On the 7th December 2009, the 15^th Conference of Parties (COP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will meet and discuss development in the convention.

More than 15,000 officials, advisers and experts from over 192 countries will take part in this event to agree on a new climate treaty as a successor to the Kyoto protocol which first phase expires on 2012.

Many important concerns will be featuring in this year’s intense negotiations; however clarity will be sought on four essentials points: 

• Legally binding emissions-reductions targets.
• Appropriate mitigation measures
• Effective delivery of finance and clean technology through international and transparent cooperative action.
• Governance structure in order to implement the above.

The Scottish Government has positioned Scotland as an international leader in addressing climate change issues which particularly threatens developing countries. As a result, data in 2006 shows Scotland as the home of Europe's largest single consented wind farm as well as the head of carbon capture and storage development systems. 

In 2008, the Scottish Parliament introduced a world-leading Climate Change (Scotland) Act followed by the Climate Change Delivery Plan. The document presents the high level measures to be implemented to achieve the radical but necessary emissions reductions targets of 80% by 2050 with an “interim” target of at least 42% by 2020.

With the potential to portray Scotland as the future green energy capital of Europe, reducing the impact of Climate Change will includes positive advantages and vast economic opportunities.

In this way, the Scottish initiative will “encourage business and organisation to think about the energy they consume and help them make important decisions about how they operate”.

The Prince’s May Day Network estimates that the business and industry sector account for about a third of all Scotland’s Greenhouse Gas emissions.

As the Scottish Government is committed to delivering the highest achievable emissions reductions, businesses will play a key role in the ambitious national targets. The Scottish Government is currently supporting a variety of environmental organisations (including the May Day Network) in providing support to business to improve their energy efficiency and cut waste, as well as seizing the business opportunities presented by the low carbon economy.

By taking a proactive, voluntary steps in cutting emissions now, your business will not only save money, but will stay ahead of impending legislation and government policies that will stem from Copenhagen and the Climate Change Act. Legislation alone however will not make the step change that is needed to avoid a climate catastrophe, and all business, including your own no matter what the size, has a huge part to play in supporting Scotland achieve its targets.