PARIS, 2 December – A group of business leaders is keeping the pressure on negotiators to ensure a role for carbon pricing and markets in the Paris Agreement.

At a special event in the IETA/WBCSD Open for Business Hub, representatives from 15 business groups – representing more than 100,000 business around the world – will talk about why carbon pricing is crucial to them and why markets matter for the climate change agreement being negotiated here in the French capital.

The event, being held at 5pm today, follows on from a letter that IETA along with 20 other business groups sent to more than 90 governments and UN climate chief Christiana Figueres in October, highlighting the importance of carbon markets to the future agreement. It also called for three simple elements to be included: provisions to encourage countries to cooperate in meeting their mitigation commitments by enabling system linkages; rules to account for international emissions reduction unit transfers; and tools to accelerate links between carbon pricing systems, such as a central project crediting mechanism.

“Markets can take off from a simple provision in the Paris Agreement, with more elaborated rules in a decision – as we saw 18 years ago, with the Kyoto Protocol,” says Dirk Forrister, IETA’s CEO and President. “The three ‘asks’ from business on markets would help undergird the next wave of climate action and allow for action to start before 2020. The longer we delay, the more expensive it will be.”

“More than 80 governments state in their Paris pledges that they can achieve even greater emissions reductions if they have access to markets, while business has been clear on the need for signals from Paris to mobilise much-needed capital,” he adds. “Negotiators need to ensure that these ambitions are given the right frameworks to flourish.”

“We need a price on carbon – the WBCSD has been clear on this point for many years,” says Peter Bakker, President of the WBCSD. “In Paris this week, more than 20 business focused organisations and associations are sending a clear message to governments that carbon pricing and market provisions are a crucial element of the Paris Agreement. This needs to come into place so that individual nations can set even more ambitious emissions reduction targets and business can work together with governments to ensure that the rise in global temperatures is limited to under 2°C.”

He adds: “Business is actively calling for a price on carbon, we stand ready to do our part, and now it is time for governments to follow our lead.”

The document listing the statements from the 18 business groups that joined the initiative is available here.

IETA has a team on the ground for the duration of the Paris meeting, covering market mechanisms, REDD+, climate finance and the overarching deal. Please contact Katie Kouchakji on kouchakji@ieta.org for any enquiries.

We will also be running a series of events in the IETA/WBCSD Pavilion, located in Hall 3, including daily media briefings at 10.30am CET. Please see our dedicated COP 21 website for more information.