Executive Guide to Carbon Pricing Leadership: A Caring For Climate Report

Summary

As the risks and impacts associated with climate change become more evident, there is increasing attention, discussion, and ac-tion related to carbon pricing. There are now more than 1,000 companies reporting that they price carbon internally or plan to do so in the next one to two years (up from 150 companies pricing carbon in 2014).1 A similar number of companies are advocating for gov-ernment action, supporting “carbon pricing policies to redirect investment commensu-rate with the scale of the climate challenge.”2This Executive Guide is designed for the hundreds of companies who are now com-pleting due diligence on carbon pricing on behalf of their companies. It has been shaped by input from dozens of such companies, as well as other experts who have been imple-menting carbon pricing programmes within companies and/or advocating for government policies in countries around the world.

Specifically, the objective is to help companies better understand the current landscape of corporate action on carbon pricing and challenge all of them to take the following actions:

• Align with the Business Leadership Criteria on Carbon Pricing
• Join the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition

The reasons why companies are increasingly interested in carbon pricing and their motives for taking the actions above will vary. One pri-mary driver is the recognition that more gov-ernment policies are putting a price on carbon, thus establishing a market value for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Companies will want to be prepared and well-positioned where these poli-cies are shaping their markets.

The desire to be “market-ready” also un-derlies other motives for companies that are making public commitments and engaging in leadership coalitions on carbon pricing.