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As midnight struck on 1 January 2022, we entered the third year of the "Decade of Action", the decade in which governments, businesses and civic society are expected to accelerate sustainable solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.  

 In 2022, the expectation on businesses to develop these solutions will only heighten and intensify. The previous twelve months underlined that the momentum for climate, nature and equity action is now. This momentum was accelerated by the progress made at the UNFCCC Climate COP26.  

By the time the gavel came down to signal the end of COP26, hosted in Glasgow, the negotiations had crept into Saturday evening, a day later than planned. Yet this extension was necessary as government representatives agreed the outcome document for the COP, known as the Glasgow Climate Pact. 

COP President Alok Sharma had high ambitions for COP26 – to secure a commitment to net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by mid-century and thereby keep the 1.5°C warming scenario within reach. The Glasgow Climate Pact mostly fulfilled these aspirations, but it has left the 1.5°C scenario hanging by a thread. 

Commentators have described the Glasgow Climate Pact as both a glass half full and a glass half empty. However, the progress that has been made in key areas – such as the commitments to phase-out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, to phase-down coal, and the requirement for countries to update their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of COP27 in Egypt – cannot be ignored. 

Clearly, COP26 and the Glasgow Climate Pact do not represent the end of the story. Much more must be done if we are to achieve a net zero, nature positive and equitable future for over nine billion people to live well, within planetary boundaries, by 2050. 

This is why the role of business action and public-private cooperation in 2022 is increasingly key to delivering climate ambition, and why COP26 was a watershed moment in this regard.  

Over 50 business and private sector led initiatives were launched at the Glasgow COP, helping governments to close the gap in climate action commitments and get closer to the 1.5°C target. As the premier global, CEO-led community of the world’s leading sustainable businesses, we were proud witnesses of the leadership the private sector brought to climate action in Glasgow. 

Business was present at COP26 in larger numbers than previous COPs and engaged in ambitious conversations about how best to get to net zero emissions in a host of new ways. We saw many CEOs in Glasgow over the two weeks making climate commitments and noted their positive influence in support of countries to raise national ambitions on emissions reductions.  

COP26 was the first moment since Paris in 2015 where governments were invited to improve the ambition of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). With political commitments falling short in aggregate, we witnessed some of the biggest successes at COP26 occurring from business commitments and public-private coalitions elsewhere in the Blue Zone. "Coalitions of the willing" launched important initiatives on methane reduction, curbing deforestation, limiting coal financing and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) initiative, which committed USD $100+ trillion to climate action. 

To this end, Glasgow COP26 was a watershed moment for business mobilization on climate action. Indeed, analysis by Climate Action Tracker noted that the business initiatives announced at Glasgow helped close the gap between government commitments and being on track for 1.5°C by mid-century by 9% or 2.2 GtCO2e, which is a significant contribution. 

In addition, for the first time at the Climate COP, we also witnessed a specific day dedicated to action on Nature. This was the first time that Nature featured so strongly at the Climate COP, in recognition of how the climate and nature crises are indelibly interlinked. In Glasgow, several key nature and climate business initiatives were launched, including a commitment from 95 companies to become Nature Positive and new funding to support Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. Agreement on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement also creates a framework for a high-integrity international carbon market that has the potential to channel significant financing towards natural climate solutions that conserve and protect nature. 

Looking ahead to 2022, COP27 will likely have a different feel and emphasis in its agenda from Glasgow. Issues of adaptation and sustainable economic development and how these priorities can be achieved, especially for poorer and more vulnerable countries, alongside reductions in emissions, will play a stronger role. Businesses will be expected to arrive in Sharm El-Sheikh in November with action-oriented plans and solutions to address these challenges. 

Consequently, the focus will not only be on the technological and financial challenges of tackling the climate emergency, but also how these issues link to the increasing loss of nature, the impact on agriculture and mounting inequality. Businesses will be under pressure to demonstrate strategies with actions formulated to tackle these interconnected issues and to be on track by 2030 for the transition to net zero emissions; becoming nature positive; and contributing with intention to an inclusive and equitable society. 

COP26 was a historic milestone for business action and public-private cooperation, and the Glasgow Climate Pact agreed keeps 1.5°C within reach. In 2022, the private sector must go further to deliver the climate, nature, and equality action that the world so desperately needs. 

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 ^{By James Smith, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)}