In early 2025, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year, based on six international data sets. The global surface temperature reached 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, surpassing the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement for the first time. Furthermore, "the last ten years have been among the hottest in history, in an alarming sequence of temperature records," as highlighted in an official statement by the United Nations (UN).
Given this scenario, extreme climate events, such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, wildfires, and ocean warming, are becoming increasingly frequent. Coordinated action between governments, businesses, and society is essential to prevent the worsening of the climate crisis. But what role do companies play in this challenge?
To address this issue, Valor Econômico, in partnership with Valor Social, hosted a live discussion on how businesses can reduce environmental damage and mitigate the effects of climate change. Reporter Rafael Vazquez spoke with Teresa Rossi, Deputy Director of Partnerships and International Cooperation at CEBRI, and Cristina Silva, Senior Environmental Management Analyst at Globo.
According to Teresa, the private sector must rethink its approach: "It is not enough to mitigate damage simply; it is essential to consider how to generate positive impacts." This requires rethinking business models to promote positive externalities for local communities, customers, suppliers, employees, and society at large.
"It is crucial for businesses to understand that the climate agenda operates on multiple levels—local, national, and global—and that Brazil has committed to its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), targets that all Paris Agreement signatories must establish and meet. Businesses play a key role in implementing these NDCs," she stated.
In a year marked by COP30, the Brazilian presidency, led by Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago (Trustee at CEBRI and current Secretary for Climate, Energy, and Environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Ana Toni (Trustee at CEBRI, Secretary for Climate Change at the Ministry of the Environment, and Executive Director of the Conference), has emphasized the need to move beyond negotiations to the effective implementation of climate goals. "At this stage, the private sector and civil society play a central role in driving concrete action," Teresa emphasized.
Additionally, Teresa pointed out that the impacts of climate change are not directly tangible, which is why there is a significant effort by research institutions, think tanks like CEBRI, and businesses themselves to price these impacts in a way that they can be considered in decision-making.
Watch the full discussion HERE.
