'Involve global business community to fight climate change'

The global business community must have a long-term market-based policy framework from governments to address climate change, a senior official of Deutsche Bank said in New Delhi on Saturday.

Speaking to delegates on the concluding day of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, Caio Koch-Weser, vice chairman of the bank, said: "Governments from G-8 + 5 countries must deliver this policy framework soonest to their business community so that the private sector knows what to invest on."

As concern over climate change increases around the world, industrialists, especially those involved in power generation and transport, are left uncertain about the direction on which they should invest.

These are among the sectors that emit the maximum carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas (GHG) that is leading to global warming due to its increasing concentration in the air.

Koch-Weser said business forums around the world must form stronger partnerships with their governments in the area of addressing climate change, with a focus on key GHG emitting sectors.

"Targets for these sectors may perhaps be integrated into the next international framework, as suggested by Japan."

Many private businesses are now using carbon credits to offset their GHG emission targets. Koch-Weser said this crediting should move from projects to policies. He also wanted private financiers to leapfrog to greener technologies and to sustainable forestry.

For such systems to work, "there should be common carbon accounting standards, proper data collection on emissions, transparent disclosures and review tools", Koch-Weser pointed out.