• The importance of investment in the international response to climate change
  Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC
  
  

  Floods, drought, violent storms - virtually every day we see reports of extreme weather events and we can expect to see them more often as a result of climate change. The cost of such events is startling; the cost of the summer floods in south and east China alone was estimated at $6.9 billion. These events point clearly to the need for urgent action.

• Reconnecting climate policy to action: policies, processes and solutions
  Randall Krantz, Global Leadership Fellow, Climate Change Initiative, World Economic Forum
  
  

  Despite an increase in climate change related reports, there has not been a corresponding increase in action. What can and should we expect in response by business and government, and how long should we be prepared to wait? Rather than simply setting goals, we should be more converned with how we can collectively achieve them.

• Climate change, energy and international policy process
  Binu Parthan, Deputy Director Programme Coordination, REEEP
  
  

  Mankind's energy consumption has been the biggest contributor to climate change and it is clear that we will need to consume more in the cause of economic progress. A framework for management of our energy resources and their deployment is what will matter in the future.

• Growing pains: the voluntary offset market
  William Thomas, Head of Environment Practice, Clifford Chance LLP
  
  

  In the US, where there is no certified carbon emissions market, there is a huge growth in voluntary reporting. Does this mean we are promoting quantity over quality? What are the challenges facing the voluntary carbon offset market and how can we tackle them in a transparent and equitable fashion?

• A wake up call for corporate directors
  Mindy S Lubber, President, Ceres
  
  

  Until recently, a company's obligation to the environment was either a black letter affair or a gesture of goodwill, but the universal threat of climate change serves up more than litigation and corporate social obligations - it offers opportunity. One problem facing business is not the effect of climate change, but how to seize the opportunity it affords.

• Interview with Steve Howard
  CEO, The Climate Group
  
  

  The Climate Group was founded in 2004 by a diverse group of companies, governments and supporters who saw the opportunity to create new momentum in the international effort to stop climate change. Proactive companies, states and cities around the world are demonstrating that cuts in greenhouse gases required to stop climate change can be achieved while growing the bottom line.

• The measurement imperative
  Lois Guthrie, Project Manager, Carbon Disclosure Project
  
  

  Introducing the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB). If the carbon market is to realise its full potential, then it must be a global market. If we are to make any meaning progress in responding to climate change, we must be able to measure it. If business is to regulate its interests in a low-carbon global economy, it needs to know what it will cost and how it can be managed.

• Building the future
  Jack Pringle, President, RIBA
  
  

  The largest segment of a company's carbon footprint is in its building and the energy they consume. The architectural profession, says Jack Pringle, has a large role to play in not only designing our building, but encouraging how we interact with our habitat, whether it is between four walls or the four corners of the planet.

• CDM projects in China and India - the additionality challenge
  Axel Michaelowa, CEO, Perspectives
  
  

  There has been criticism of the carbon market's ability to deliver on actual emissions reductions, as envisioned by Kyoto. In its defence, it can be described as a newly born baby, learning from its mistakes in an untested world; in its prosecution it is depicted as a greedy playground bully, backed by the parental resources of financial capital. Whichever view you take, there is room for improvement in its operations, image and efficacy.

• ClimateWise - reducing the risk of climate change for tomorrow
  Katy Cornish, ClimateWise
  
  

  Insurance is a protection which gives us the confidence to face our anxieties and their attendant risks. The industry is rising to the challenge of climate change with product innovation and leadership. Katy Cornish describes the ClimateWise initiative.

• Leading industry transformation
  Oliver Rapf, Head of Business and Industry Engagement, WWF
  
  

  As an example of collective industry leadership, the Information Communications Technology industry makes a good case study. Oliver Rapf explains what makes the Climate Savers Computing Initiative a success and how to leads the way for other sector-wide initiatives to go green.

• Changing the terms of the debate: investor collaboration on climate change
  Stephanie Pfeifer, IIGCC and Dr Rory Sullivan, Insight Investment
  
  

  Stephanie Pfeifer and Rory Sullivan write about how investor groups can influence corporate thinking, but acknowledge that more needs to be done to nurture an environment where business is given clearer guidelines and more confidence to respond to climate change.

• What investors want to know
  John Hildebrand, HEad of Charity Fund Management, Investec Asset Management
  
  

  How do investors compare potential investments across different industries? John Hildebrand looks at the physical risks posed by climate change and discusses the need for compliance targets.

• Introducing aviation to the carbon market - a logical next step to addressing aircraft emissions
  Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for the Environment
  
  

  The aviation industry has traditionally enjoyed special treatment in terms of taxation and regulation. But like any other industry that emits carbon, it should be brought into a mechanism that can reduce its impact on the environment. Stavros Dimas puts forward the European Union's strategy.

• Towards a carbon-free future for aviation
  Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO, IATA
  
  

  Leadership is never so admired than when it comes at your own expense. While the debate over aircraft emissions trading rages, the industry envisions a long-term solution to the industry's carbon emissions in its own innovation and leadership. Giovanni Bisignani leads the way.

• Aviation and the EU ETS
  Graham Stuart, Associate, Norton Rose LLP
  
  

  As far back as 2006, the aviation industry was keen to enter into the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme, but after a great deal of consultation it appears that all parties initial expectations have shifted. There is debate over the auctioning of allowances and there is a clash over the legalities of geographical and operational coverage, as well as interpretation of existing conventions between the EU and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

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