COP26 - What's the future for business and sales?

Australia is like Goldilocks – we are not too small or too large – we are just the right size population-wise to make real and effective change and become the economic and environmentally sustainable model of the world in how to live and work as a peaceful and prosperous society.

There’s climate leadership coming from Australian states and territories, key businesses and industry sectors, and certain business and community groups. They are showing us what works and the benefits that decarbonising our economy can bring like regional jobs, cleaner cities, and cheaper power.

To truly decarbonise our businesses and societies by 2035, we need to replace all fossil fuel use as quickly as possible to meet our energy needs with renewables. There’s also work to be done repairing and restoring landscapes and atmosphere.

The good news is we already have the technology we need to accelerate towards net zero emissions. Plenty has been documented already.[1] And these technologies become cheaper the more they are deployed, in what the World Economic Forum calls a ‘virtuous circle’: More deployment => Prices fall => Competitive in new markets => Demand increases => More deployment.

Operating costs for renewable energy plants are low and fuel costs are zero. Renewable energy is becoming cheaper than fossil fuels which is good news for the economy and global efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

As Simon Holmes à Court, cleantech investor and Founder of Climate 200, said in 2021 ‘None of the major industrial companies I visited in Europe sees decarbonisation through a sacrifice lens. There’s no talk of “economy wrecking targets”. Rather, having accepted that the economy must be decarbonised, they are rushing to seize a competitive advantage.’

Three-quarters of Australians (74%) say ‘the benefits of taking further action on climate change will outweigh the costs’, according to the Lowe Institute Climate Poll, May 2021.

Decarbonising the Australian economy will open up many new opportunities for new and better ways of doing business and living.

This is why Barrett’s 2022 Sales Trends Report is dedicated to Decarbonising Sales Operations and Teams. It will be available in late November 2021, a few weeks after COP26 in Glasgow.

What is COP26 and why is it happening?

The COP26 event is a global United Nations summit about climate change and how countries are planning to tackle it. It will take place between 1-12 November 2021 with more than 200 world leaders expected to attend.

COP26 is a forum where world leaders need to work together to enable and encourage countries affected by climate change to: protect and restore ecosystems, build defences, warning systems and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives. COP26 is being described as the most significant climate event since the 2015 Paris Agreement.

COP26 Goals

1. Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach

Countries are being asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets that align with reaching net zero by the middle of the century.

To deliver on these stretching targets, countries will need to:

accelerate the phase-out of coal
curtail deforestation
speed up the switch to electric vehicles
encourage investment in renewables.

2. Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats

The climate is already changing, and it will continue to change even as we reduce emissions, with devastating effects.

At COP26 leaders need to work together to enable and encourage countries affected by climate change to:

protect and restore ecosystems
build defences, warning systems and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives

3. Mobilise finance

To deliver on the first two goals, developed countries must make good on their promise to mobilise at least $100bn in climate finance per year by 2020.

International financial institutions must play their part and we need work towards unleashing the trillions in private and public sector finance required to secure global net zero.

4. Work together to deliver

We can only rise to the challenges of the climate crisis by working together.

Leaders at COP26 must:

finalise the Paris Rulebook (the detailed rules that make the Paris Agreement operational)
accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis through collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society.

Remember, everybody lives by selling something.

[1] https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/what-does-net-zero-emissions-mean/

https://grattan.edu.au/australia-can-pull-off-the-great-electricity-trifecta/