Global economic instability could lead to a decline in direct environmental investments and reduce the rigour of future climate change legislation, asserts ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) today in a position paper about the UN Climate Change Conference 2009 - called COP 15.
The report from the global accoutancy body - which has championed sustainability issues in business since 1990 - offers eight recommendations for governments, policy makers and business ahead of the COP15 meeting in December 2009.
Mr Arif Masud Mirza, Head of ACCA Pakistan, says: “The dual challenges of climate and economy have led to a unique opportunity to re-build the global markets with systems sympathetic to climate change. And the trillion dollar bailout of the banking sector proves that governments and businesses around the world can work together quickly to avert disaster.”
ACCA’s report also recommends that governments should respond to the economic conditions by implementing measures that will encourage environmental investments and a more sustainable approach from business.
Mr Mirza adds: “Business has a massive role to play here in how they communicate their commitment to a low carbon economy. ACCA champions the extension of corporate reporting to include the social and environmental aspects of a business and has launched awards for sustainability reporting in Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the US and Canada.” ACCA is concerned that without a co-ordinated strategy to tackle the financial crisis in a sustainable way, the possibility still exists that the stimulus and recovery packages may lock us into the root causes of climate change. If we follow the model of the banking bailout, we can achieve a sustainable, low carbon, climate resilient future.
Courtesy By ACCA
0 comments:
Post a Comment