Paris climate talks need business to move beyond greenwash and empty promises

We should welcome recent commitments by the business sector, but they now need to be converted into tangible progress

The success of the Paris climate talks, COP 21, this December will not be measured by whether or not countries can all agree on a new global deal. It will rest on deals made outside the negotiation halls and beyond the traditional scope of international climate talks.

The New York climate change summit last September offers one bellwether for tracking this change, where 481 private companies and investors joined national, city and regional governments, and nearly 400 civil society groups to craft and sign 29 different pledges for climate action. These commitments take on targets that range from reducing deforestation to mitigating aviation sector emissions.