WRI Insights

Multinational companies (MNCs) typically have operations and supply chains in many parts of the world. The way they respond to climate change, therefore, can affect many populations, including poor communities in developing countries, where many people are especially vulnerable to heat waves, sea level rise, and other climate change impacts. MNCs sometimes find themselves in tension with local groups and the environment, but they can also play an important role in making these communities more climate-resilient. Here are three ways that MNCs can contribute to climate change adaptation in developing countries:

This year’s climate negotiations in Warsaw, Poland ([COP 19](http://www.wri.org//our-work/topics/cop-19)) were a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand,[ the summit’s outcomes](http://www.wri.org/news/statement-climate-talks-wrap-warsaw) were dramatically out of step with the level of action needed to solve the climate change problem. A tempting metaphor for the talks was the national stadium in which they were held– one could go around in endless circles in search of the right location. On the other hand, the Warsaw COP did achieve the [incremental outcomes needed](http://www.wri.org/blog/5-issues-watch-cop-19-%E2%80%9Cconstruction-cop%E2%80%9D) to move the process forward. Negotiators put in place a work plan for [securing an international climate agreement](http://www.wri.org/blog/qa-jennifer-morgan-how-do-we-secure-strong-international-climate-agreement-2015) at COP 21 in Paris in 2015. The COP also made progress on [scaling up climate finance](http://www.wri.org/blog/3-ways-make-progress-climate-finance-cop-19) and addressing the difficult issue of [loss and damage](http://www.wri.org/blog/loss-and-damage-elements-successful-negotiations-cop-19-warsaw), a process for addressing climate impacts that are difficult or impossible to adapt to. These are small but important steps toward bringing countries out of their repetitive, circular discussions and closer to agreeing collectively on how to address global climate change.

Confronted with a cooling economy and global headlines declaring an "Airpocalypse", China faces challenges on multiple fronts. While many people are quick to point out the hurdles, the reality is that its leaders are moving ahead with significant policy measures and reforms. If successful, these actions will not only help drive China's economic development, they will address another mounting threat: climate change. The [latest report](http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/#.Uo-NccTEN9U) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms the risks of climate change and humans' central role in it. China is no less vulnerable. One-third of its coastline is [highly vulnerable](http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/314/art%253A10.1007%252Fs11852-012-0180-9.pdf?auth66=1385310690_74d9a7c0a1c873da0f50fcaaf468b2cc&ext=.pdf) to rising seas that will probably lead to the relocation of coastal communities. China's agricultural production - including rice, wheat and corn - [could fall dramatically](http://www.climatechange.cn/EN/abstract/abstract8397.shtml) within a few decades due to shifts in precipitation and soil quality. Health impacts, including malaria and other infectious diseases, are also [expected to mount](http://climatechange.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/Turn_Down_the_heat_Why_a_4_degree_centrigrade_warmer_world_must_be_avoided.pdf) as global temperatures rise. As China moves to tackle issues related to the economy, pollution and urbanisation, each carries opportunities to shift the country's emissions trajectory and make progress on climate change.

How do people, governments, and corporations “value” ecosystems? And how can you put a price on the vast array of social, economic, and environmental benefits that ecosystems provide? These are just two of the questions experts sought to address at [“The Future of Revaluing Ecosystems,”](http://www.wri.org/events/revaluing-ecosystems) an event WRI recently convened in Bellagio, Italy, in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation, Forum for the Future, and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The meeting brought together 32 participants from public, private, non-profit, and research sectors to consider how society could include in public and private decision-making a more complete valuing of the benefits ecosystems provide to people. The discussions shed light on how we can evaluate ecosystems’ true worth to communities and businesses —and how to use these valuations to foster better environmental stewardship.

We already know the [world’s carbon budget is being exhausted](http://www.wri.org/blog/unabated-coal-use-will-break-world%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Ccarbon-budget%E2%80%9D) at an alarming pace, but a new scientific assessment reveals just how sobering the picture of the global carbon cycle truly is. The [Global Carbon Project’s (GCP) 2013 report](http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/13/hl-full.htm) finds that at the precise time emissions reductions are needed most, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels and producing cement have reached their highest level in human history.

The [Open Government Partnership (OGP)](http://www.opengovpartnership.org/)—which held its most recent summit about three weeks ago—has made tremendous progress in its two years of existence. The OGP, a voluntary partnership between governments and civil society, aims to make governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. Discussions at the summit made it clear that the partnership is already demonstrating impact. Sixty-two governments have now joined OGP, making 1,115 commitments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. The Summit provided a real sense that there’s a growing community [who really “gets”](http://www.wri.org/blog/open-government-partnership-african-nations-commit-new-levels-transparency) the importance of open government to meeting development goals. Yet there was still a gap in the discourse in one particular area—the environment.

*As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moves forward with standards to reduce power plant emissions—which are due to be finalized in June 2015—many states are wondering how they will comply. WRI’s fact sheet series, Power Sector Opportunities for Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions, examines the policies and pathways various states can use to cost-effectively meet or even exceed future power plant emissions standards. This post explores these opportunities in Colorado. Read about [additional analyses](/power-sector-opportunities-reducing-carbon-dioxide-emissions) in this series.* Colorado is generating more electricity than it has in the past, but it’s doing so while emitting less carbon dioxide pollution thanks to ongoing efforts to ramp down coal use. And the state has the potential to go even further. **In fact, [new WRI analysis](/publication/power-sector-opportunities-reducing-carbon-dioxide-emissions-colorado) finds that Colorado can reduce its CO2 emissions 29 percent below 2011 levels by 2020 just by complying with current policies and taking advantage of existing infrastructure.** Achieving these reductions will allow Colorado to meet moderately ambitious EPA power plant emissions standards, which are due to be finalized in 2015.

It’s time for businesses and governments [to step up](http://www.wri.org/blog/greater-expectations-3-actions-companies-take-climate-policy) to the climate challenge and match words to actions. This week at the annual international climate talks in Warsaw, companies, policymakers, and civil society participated in an event to deepen business engagement on climate policy. Such interaction could not have come at a more critical time. Global emissions are on the rise. And last year, climate and extreme weather events alone [cost $200 billion](http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/18/worldbank-climate-idUSL5N0J323P20131118?feedType=RSS&feedName=financialsSector). The world clearly needs to accelerate its response to the climate challenge. Businesses and governments need to work together constructively to raise the level of action and ambition. That means policymakers step up to provide a strong market signal and support, while companies come to the table with clear, public, constructive input.

Coal is emerging as a major topic of conversation at the United Nations [climate-change negotiations](http://unfccc.int/meetings/warsaw_nov_2013/meeting/7649.php) currently taking place in Warsaw – and rightly so. Indeed, it is a discussion that the world needs to have. The [latest findings](http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/#.UozgzF8o46Z) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conclude that we are quickly using up [our carbon “budget”](http://www.wri.org/blog/world%E2%80%99s-carbon-budget-be-spent-three-decades) – the amount of carbon that we can afford to emit while still having a good chance of limiting global warming to 2º Celsius. According to the IPCC, keeping the global temperature increase from pre-industrial levels below this threshold – the recognized tipping point beyond which climate change is likely to get seriously out of control – requires that the world emit only about 1,000 gigatonnes of carbon (GtC). More than half of this amount was already emitted by 2011. Unless we shift away from carbon-intensive behavior, the remaining budget will run out in roughly three decades.