MGMT8420 Sustainable Development

Global inaction on climate change costs the economy trillions of dollars every year (Nature, 2014; UNFCCC, 2018).  In an effort to address the changing climate and mitigate the environmental, social and economic impacts, the global community has adopted a variety of agreements, protocols and treaties aimed at reducing emissions of global warming-inducing greenhouse gases.

 

Among the most recent global efforts, the Paris Agreement was introduced at the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in Paris, on December 12th, 2015.  The Paris Agreement’s central aim is “keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels” (UNFCCC, 2018).

 

Hundreds of countries have signed and ratified the agreement and will now call on business and individual citizens to take action.  What exactly does this look like?  What changes will business need to make in order to reduce climate change-causing warming and how will it impact bottom line performance?

As an experienced consultant for an independent third party organization, you have been contracted to provide information on the Paris Agreement and its impact on business.  You have been asked to produce a brief report detailing your findings.  Specifically your report needs to answer the following questions:

 

1.How does climate change impact business?  Provide at least three specific examples – be creative.  They may be positive and/or negative.

 

2.Provide an overview of the Paris Agreement including a brief history and the current status.  In your explanation, be sure to incorporate the following terms: Kyoto Protocol, Conference of the Parties and UNFCCC.

 

3.You have been assigned the following country: (Sweden)

 

Please answer the following questions based on the country that you have been assigned:

 

a.What is the status of the agreement (signed/ratified, etc.)

 

b.Explain the concept of nationally determined contributions (NDC) and how they apply to the country that you are profiling

 

c.What is the role of business in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement; i.e. has government incentivized business to take action; if so, how? Are individual organizations self-motivated; if so; why? Be sure to provide at least three examples of businesses and the actions that they are taking. Based on your research, what do you believe may be the best way to achieve real and lasting change towards solving the climate crisis?  (i.e. do you think the Paris agreement is enough?)