Bay Area Climate Initiative to Launch

(San Francisco, 4 September 2006) - The UN Global Compact, in partnership with the Bay Area Council and the San Francisco Department of the Environment, will launch the Business Council on Climate Change ("BC3") in February 2007 (date to be confirmed) -- a regional initiative that will provide a framework for the private sector to address the risks and opportunities of climate change.
 
At the launch event, leading Bay Area-based companies are expected to sign the Principles on Climate Leadership, developed by a working group of companies and environmental experts, and kick off a broader recruitment process.  The Principles cover policy implementation, community leadership, advocacy, collective action, and transparency.
 
On 31 August, California passed the most comprehensive legislation (AB 32) in the United States to cap greenhouse-gas emissions and encourage a carbon-trading market.
 
"The passage of this historic piece of legislation reinforces the timeliness of the launch of the Business Council on Climate Change", said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. "Our hope is that BC3 will become a true leadership initiative, helping to improve the environment in California, now the world's sixth-largest economy, while also acting as a model for other regional initiatives in the US and perhaps abroad".

For more information, please contact Gavin Power (powerg@un.org).

Download the Principles on Climate Leadership.
Download the Frequently Asked Questions.