From Ambition to Economic Delivery: ICC’s Call to Action Ahead of COP30

As world leaders prepare to gather in Belém for COP30, the message from business is clear: climate ambition must now translate into economic delivery.

In an open letter to Climate Ministers, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO conveyed the views of more than 45 million companies across 170 countries, calling on governments to make COP30 the turning point where commitment becomes implementation.

Business urges governments to make COP30 about delivery

The global business community sees the transition to a net-zero, climate-resilient world not only as a moral imperative, but as an economic necessity. Businesses are already investing, innovating, and adapting to growing physical and transition risks. Yet progress is being held back by fragmented regulations and uncertainty around the enabling conditions needed to unlock private capital at scale.

To deliver on the Paris Agreement, ICC calls on governments to anchor COP30 outcomes around three priority pillars:

1. Investment-ready national climate action plans.

   Governments must co-design updated and ambitious NDCs with business, aligning climate goals with growth, energy security and industrial competitiveness. Predictable frameworks and clear market signals are essential to drive long-term investment.

   
   

2. A Global Goal on Adaptation that mobilises private finance.

   Adaptation receives less than 10% of total climate finance today. ICC calls for robust metrics, risk-reporting standards, and smart incentives to make resilience investable, turning adaptation into a scalable economic opportunity.

   
   

3. A finance implementation plan that operationalises the new collective quantified goal.

The next step in the Baku-to-Belém process must be a concrete roadmap to channel funding into emerging and developing economies. That means addressing structural barriers, including reforms to prudential rules such as Basel III and more effective use of development bank balance sheets, to unlock private capital at scale.

Scaling finance and integrity at the heart of ICC’s agenda

ICC’s COP30 strategy sets out practical policy actions to turbocharge climate finance, strengthen carbon markets and embed adaptation into business models.Key ICC proposals include:

• Reforms to global financial regulations to enable greater green investment;

• New frameworks for Article 6 implementation and voluntary carbon markets;

• Development of investable adaptation pipelines supported by clear data, incentives and risk-transfer mechanisms such as resilience bonds;

• Recognition of trade finance as a key enabler of climate-aligned growth.

At COP30, ICC will also highlight the role of small and medium-sized enterprises, presenting new data and insights on how SMEs can be empowered to take climate action.

A partnership for delivery

The private sector has proven its capacity to innovate, from clean energy systems to new low-carbon technologies, but cannot act alone. ICC is urging governments to work hand-in-hand with business to turn high-level ambition into real-world impact through policy coherence, transparent carbon markets and credible financing mechanisms.

“COP30 can and should mark the point where climate ambition becomes economic strategy — anchored in growth, resilience and opportunity,” said ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO.

How businesses can engage

ICC Netherlands invites all members and partners to join this call to action:

• Use ICC’s key messages in your own communications and bilateral engagements with government representatives in the run-up to and during COP30;

• Share ICC’s Open Letter and Strategy across your business networks to amplify the voice of the real economy;

• Highlight concrete business actions that show how Dutch companies are driving sustainable growth and climate innovation.

• Join the ICC Netherlands Sustainability Commission meeting – 11 December: we will discuss how Dutch businesses can engage with the COP30 outcomes and shape our ICC Netherlands sustainability agenda for 2026 and beyond.

The decisions made in Belém will shape global competitiveness, capital flows and resilience for years to come. Business is ready, and willing, to partner with governments to deliver the opportunity of a lifetime.

Read further

• ICC and UNFCCC Business Group call on climate ministers ahead of COP30 (15 October 2025)

  Ahead of COP30 in Belém, ICC and the UNFCCC Business Group urge governments to make climate ambition a driver of economic transformation, calling for coherent policies that unlock private investment at scale.

  
  

• COP30 Open Letter to Climate Ministers (29 October 2025, ICC)

  ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO outlines the business priorities for COP30: investment-ready climate plans, a global goal on adaptation, and a finance implementation plan to deliver growth and resilience.

  
  

• COP30 Key ICC Messages and Strategy (October 2025, ICC)

  
  

  ICC’s roadmap for Belém sets out how to scale climate finance, drive private investment in adaptation, and strengthen carbon market integrity — turning the “opportunity of a lifetime” into tangible action.

  
  

• The opportunity to align Basel’s global banking rules with climate needs 

  Basel III made the financial system sturdier after the 2008 crisis. But rules built to prevent a repeat of the last financial crisis now risk slowing the climate transition. Emerging markets need hundreds of billions annually for the world to meet climate targets and stay on a net-zero path. With rule clarifications, targeted adjustments and smart reforms, a unique opportunity presents itself to align financial stability with climate needs and unlock vital private capital.