The Global Roundtable on Climate Change brings together high-level, critical stakeholders from all regions of the world — including senior executives from the private sector and leaders of international governmental and non-governmental organizations — to discuss and explore areas of potential consensus regarding core scientific, technological, and economic issues critical to shaping sound public policies on climate change.
The Roundtable and its activities are made possible by a generous grant from the Lenfest Foundation, dedicated to supporting programs primarily in the areas of education, the arts and the environment.
The Global Roundtable on Climate Change is a forum for good-faith information exchange, mutual learning, consensus building, and problem solving. Participants possess many different views on a broad variety of issues. This diversity represents a strength but it also requires emphasizing that participation in Roundtable does not in itself imply support by a particular company, institution or individual for each Joint Statement, demonstration project, conference sponsorship, press release, quotation, or other activity associated with the Roundtable. Only those companies, institutions and individuals expressly listed in connection with a particular statement or activity can be considered to support it and in no case can such endorsement be considered legally binding in any way.
GROCC News and Updates:
February 26-27, 2009 -- GROCC 6
The sixth and final full meeting of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change will be held February 26-27, 2009 at Columbia University in New York City. The meeting will assess global progress on climate change mitigation over the four years of the Roundtable process, and evaluate future prospects. The agenda will include close examination of the status of the international policy process, the impact of the US presidential election, and the effects of the financial crisis on responses to climate change at all levels of society.
Please check here for further agenda updates. Registration forms and additional information will be circulated in early November.
February 4, 2009 -- GROCC Event at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit
The Global Roundtable on Climate Change is pleased to announce our collaboration with the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS). DSDS is a high-level annual forum focused on global sustainability, the Millennium Development Goals, and assessment of global progress in these areas. The Summit has been organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), under the leadership of Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, since 2001. The 2009 meeting runs from February 5-7 and will focus on the theme ‘Towards Copenhagen: an equitable and ethical approach’.
GROCC will host a special event at the Summit, chaired by GROCC Chair and Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs and featuring Columbia University geochemist Juerg Matter. The discussion will focus on carbon capture and storage with an emphasis on opportunities in India and other developing countries.
The CEO Forum, which serves as a curtain raiser for the DSDS, brings together high-level executives from around the world for discussions of key sustainability issues. The theme of this year’s discussion is: ‘Climate Change: perspective from the change makers in business.’ The CEO Forum is co-sponsored by TERI and the India office of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
All GROCC participants are invited to attend all parts of the DSDS, the CEO Forum, and the GROCC special event. Logistical details can be found here.
March 10-12, 2009 -- Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions
The University of Copenhagen is hosting an international scientific congress on climate change under the heading "Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions." The main aim of the congress is to provide a synthesis of existing and emerging scientific knowledge necessary in order to make intelligent societal decisions concerning application of mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate change. More information on the Scientific Congress on Climate Change is found here.
September 10-13, 2008 -- Symposium on the Cultural Dimensions of Climate Change
A symposium on the Cultural Dimensions of Climate Change will be held at Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington State, USA. The symposium is part of the XVI International Conference of the Society for Human Ecology, "Integrative Thinking for Complex Futures: Creating Resilience in Human-Nature Systems." For more information, click here.
February 12-13, 2008 -- GROCC 5 - The Adapation Agenda: Progress and Priorities
The fifth meeting of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change convened February 12-13, 2008 at Columbia University. The meeting included critical updates, fresh analysis, stimulating discussions, and a host of thought-provoking exchanges. As always, the constructive participation of such a broad range of stakeholders was critical to the success of the meeting. Presentations are posted to the conference page.
The Roundtable's next steps include substantive linkages with like-minded initiatives around the world, including The Energy and Resources Institute, India, directed by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, and the Global Humanitiarian Forum, led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. In addition, in collaboration with other Earth Institute programs we will be contributing to the work of the Global Task Force on Carbon Capture and Sequestration, which held its inaugural meeting on February 14.
Additional task forces on solar energy, green buildings and soil carbon sequestration are under consideration and may be initiated in the coming months. Please check here for updates on Roundtable activities.
December 3-14, 2007-- Bali Climate Negotiations
The 13th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC and 3rd Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol is underway in Bali, Indonesia. Live webcasts, official documents and other information from the UNFCCC secretariat are available here. Many GROCC participants are attending the meetings with a number participating in side-events held between negotiating sessions. A schedule of side events is available on the UNFCCC site. ENB coverage of all official proceedings and side events is available here.
The GROCC Joint Statement was introduced by David Downie at a well attended side event, hosted by e5 and co-sponsored by GROCC. Also at that event, GROCC joined with many other business groups representing a broad constituency from different sectors in issuing a press release and a set of criteria by which to evaluate the outcome of the talks in Bali. Building on agreed statements for the German G8 Summit and for Bali, businesses called on governments to:
- Launch a new negotiating round on a post-2012 framework;
- Agree to conclude negotiations on such a global agreement by 2009;
- Agree on elements of a stable long-term market framework for low carbon technology development and deployment; and,
- Agree to maintain continuity in the legally-binding frameworks underpinning the carbon market.
In addition, the executive summary of the GROCC Joint Statement will also be formally submitted to the high-level segment of the talks on 15 December.
May 17, 2007-- The GROCC Joint Statement was introduced into the UNFCCC process at a well attended side event at the UN climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, as part of the our effort to generate cross-sectoral, cross-regional consensus among businesses, governments, civil society and academia on a science-based framework for a post – 2012 global climate agreement. The event was webcast by the UNFCCC and covered by the Earth Negotiations Bulletin. The negotiations many important questions, particularly in relationship to the post-2012 regime. All webcasts from the two week session can be viewed here.
May 8, 2007-- Roundtable participant Citigroup announces 10 year, $50 billion strategy to address climate change. Read the press release here.
March 29, 2007 -- Since the release of the Joint Statement, the distinguished list of corporations, institutions and prominent individuals that have endorsed it continues to grow. New endorsers include Fortis; Tata Chemicals; Shree Cement; and former US Senator Timothy Wirth, President of the UN Foundation.
Also:
-- Read the GROCC Joint Statement
-- Want your company involved? Email us at grocc@ei.columbia.edu
-- Be part of NextGenerationEarth: Individuals can sign the Climate Statement of Principles
“Of course, addressing climate change involves risks and costs. But much greater is the risk of failing to act. I am convinced that we can build a global plan of action on climate change in ways that create more economic opportunities than risks. The work of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change is an excellent example of the type of effort needed to extend the climate change issue from one of talk to one of action. Though the challenge is significant, I believe we can all grow and prosper in a greenhouse gas-constrained world. Actually, I believe there is no other option.”
— Alain Belda, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alcoa
Read statements of support from more corporate and civil society leaders (pdf) .
GROCC in the News
Earth Day, every day (editorial by Senator Olympia Snowe)
Curbing Emissions Won't Be Enough
Newsweek, April 16, 2007