Cautious business response to climate change accord
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| The conference president, Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk, welcomed the compromise as "good news for the international community." |
Bonn, 23 July 2001 - The compromise agreement on how to tackle climate change reached today represents "considerable progress" but business awaits additional details on which to base investment decisions.
This was the first reaction from the International Chamber of Commerce, the world business organization, to the deal hammered out by 178 governments in Bonn.
Nick Campbell, spokesman for an ICC delegation that followed the negotiations in this Rhineland town, said: "Business observers have been encouraged by the more rational and business-like approach that characterised the negotiations."
Business has insisted that it needs to know what rules it will have to play by under a climate change treaty so that companies can adjust their planning accordingly.
An ICC statement noted progress in establishing the role of various mechanisms, like emissions trading, in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
The statement said that climate change posed "a long-term challenge" that required comprehensive global efforts involving the use of all available technologies.
Business statement on Bonn agreement (full text)
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