Energy

Fri, 12/04/2009 - 18:39

The Climate Change Business forum, a Hong Kong-based business group that promotes sustainability, is sending a delegation to Copenhagen for climate change talks. Delegation member Dr. Glenn Frommer talks with Interfax about the efforts of the group to promote sustainable, low carbon-intensive development in Greater China without losing the competitive edge.

Shanghai. December 4. INTERFAX-CHINA - The Climate Change Business Forum (CCBF), a Hong Kong-based member-supported organization focused on pioneering Hong Kong's transition to a low carbon economy, is sending a delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Dec. 7. The CCBF, which is comprised of 25 Hong Kong-based companies, will attend the conference as a non-official observer to dialogue with policy makers, while promoting the idea that China's businesses are acutely aware of the challenges and business opportunities posed by climate change.

According to CCBF delegation member Dr. Glenn Frommer, who heads sustainable development for MTR Corporation Ltd, the conference will afford the group the chance to learn more about the strategies and initiatives under discussion, as well as make substantive recommendations based on its combined corporate experience in developing in an environmentally responsible manner. Many of the companies CCBF represents have been active globally, leading their industries in formulating aggressive yet achievable lower carbon business models. "We hope to gain a better understanding of some of the policies being discussed and to inform participants about sustainability in Greater China," said Frommer.

The CCBF believes the time is ripe address the pressing issue of climate change. "There is a sense of urgency in the business community now," said Frommer. "We would like to see a workable plan or a fast-track path to a deal in the next few months." Frommer added that the CCBF hopes the world leaders in Copenhagen will produce a deal that is aggressive, equitable and which creates level playing fields for industries."

Copenhagen has been billed as the conference where world leaders will formulate a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations' first attempt at combating the global warming. Political heavyweights like U.S. President Barrack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao are scheduled to attend the event, and the CCBF is intensely interested in how world leaders will formulate a treaty that will assist the Hong Kong business community in its pursuit of "high growth, low carbon development while maintaining its competitive edge," said Frommer. The stakes are high: international negotiations typically take years, but the realities of climate change demand near-term action. CCBF businesses are acutely aware of the urgency.

The CCBF sees both opportunities and risks stemming from climate change. The forum discusses policies and regulations, funds relevant research, and shares best practices with the business community. Among its members are some of the biggest corporate citizens in Hong Kong, including HSBC, Cathay Pacific, PCCW*, Sino Group, Hang Lung Properties and Standard Chartered, among others. The CCBF's Copenhagen delegation also includes Teresa Au, HSBC's head of corporate sustainability of the Asia Pacific Region, Dr. Jeanne Ng, CLP's director of Group Environmental Affairs, Dr. Mark Watson, Cathay Pacific's head of environmental affairs, and Robert Gibson, director of sustainable development for Swire Pacific. CCBF's.

-DL/MB