COP21 outcomes, with Sylvie Bénard
LVMH
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The COP21 meeting came to a close on Saturday, December 12th when 195 countries adopted the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. LVMH Environment Director talks about the significance of this universal agreement.
The COP21 ended with an agreement. Does this mean the conference was a success?
For the first time in history, the 195 countries attending together agreed to take measures to mitigate climate change.
The agreement is universal and also seeks a balance between developed, emerging and still developing nations, with a funding floor of $100 billion per year. The objective of holding the global increase in temperatures to 2°C – 1.5°C if conditions allow – was also formally stated.
Now it’s up to the countries to ratify the text and implement it.
What impressed you most during the COP21 meeting?
The positions taken by the world’s leaders confirmed my belief that climate change is now a reality for everyone. What personally marked me most was the engagement of the 20 countries most exposed to climate change – the Philippines, Maldives, the Cook Islands and others – in order to weigh on the negotiations. They showed that their people are already experiencing the effects of global warming every day.
Another significant point was the degree to which civil society –businesses, NGOs and citizens – played a pivotal role by demonstrating that there are solutions and innovations and by showing that they can be implemented. Here, LVMH aims to be exemplary, and creating an internal carbon fund is elegant proof of this commitment.
What is your assessment of the COP21 conference?
Beyond the agreement itself, the conference raised awareness of the issue among all publics. It was extremely gratifying for my teams and for me personally since we’ve been “preaching the good word” for over 20 years! Our Group can be legitimately proud to have been measuring its carbon footprint for more than 15 years.
The fact that LVMH was a partner of the COP21 is important too, since it has provided an opportunity to educate our staff, our management, as well as our external stakeholders. The very enthusiastic response to the presentations of initiatives by LVMH Houses at the conference definitely encourages us to pursue our efforts.