January 26, 12

NEWS / UN launches online database to help businesses adapt to climate change

26 January 2012 –
A new online database launched today by the United Nations will showcase successful strategies that businesses and communities are using to adapt to climate change while simultaneously increasing their profits and using their resources more efficiently.

The database, which can be accessed through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website, features more than 100 examples from companies such as Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Microsoft and Starbucks, which share the details of their business-friendly adaptation practices.

“By showcasing private sector adaptation success stories, we intend to help both communities and businesses become more climate-resilient and to put the benefits and business sense of adaptation firmly on the agenda of the private sector,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Climate risks which affect communities around the world are always also business risks,” she added.

Examples of best practices in the database include efforts to make drinking water clean and safe in developing countries and efforts to improve the yield of coffee beans in regions that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. They also cover activities such as the development of climate-friendly goods and services and climate proofing the supply chains of companies.

Ms. Figueres underscored the importance of businesses and governments implementing measures to prepare for natural disasters such as massive floods, as these have a big impact on the operation of local and global businesses.

“The initiatives detailed in the database both show how the private sector can secure early advantages by adapting without waiting for absolute policy certainty at the international level, and how governments and the private sector can work together to respond to climate change now. Public-private partnerships and cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders is becoming increasingly important to ensure successful implementation,” Ms. Figueres said.

In addition to the new database, the UNFCCC secretariat’s Momentum for Change Initiative provides a platform to showcase successful public-private partnerships at all levels that have led to positive changes for both people and the climate.

The database is part of a wider effort by UNFCCC following the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, to prioritize adaptation efforts as well as mitigation of natural disasters.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41049&Cr=climate+change&Cr1=

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