Philippe Varin and Laurent Fabius on turning Paris promises into COP30 action

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, progress is real - but far from enough. Philippe Varin, ICC Chair, and Laurent Fabius, Lead of the Circle of COP Presidents at COP30, stressed that Belém must be an implementation COP. Businesses are ready to lead. But governments must set the conditions that allow business to scale solutions that deliver impact.

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Ten years since the Paris Agreement, ICC Chair Philippe Varin and architect of the Paris Agreement, Laurent Fabius, warn that progress, while real, is still dangerously insufficient. At a critical moment for international climate diplomacy, Mr Varin and Mr Fabius - now lead of the Circle of former COP Presidents at COP30 - set out their vision for COP30 in Belem - a summit they insist must go beyond promises, and towards implementation. Governments must create the enabling conditions and business must lead in delivering solutions, they emphasise.

The Paris Agreement remains a landmark of multilateral diplomacy. Noting its legacy, Mr Fabius said the Agreement had helped shift from a projected 4-5°C of warming at the end of the century to just under 3°C today. "One degree is enormous in terms of consequences and it is due to the largely to the Paris Agreement," he said. I Clean energy reached a record USD $2 trillion in 2024, a more than six-fold increase since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. while millions of new jobs have been created.

"There is an enormous 'but'," warned Mr Fabius, underlining remaining gaps, ongoing climate catastrophes and the fact that the 1.5°C limit will almost certainly be breached. Mr Varin pointed to ICC research showing that extreme weather events have cost the global economy US$2 trillion over the past decade, affecting 1.6 billion people. Climate finance, particularly for developing economies, has fallen far short and many nations have yet to submit their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

What can we expect from COP30 in Belém?

Despite the realities, both Mr Fabius and Mr Varin emphasised the opportunity that COP30 presents. For Mr Fabius, the goal must be to turn Belém into an 'implementation COP'. The shift, he stressed, must be from promises to delivery, and business has a key role to play.

"Now it is the time for implementation, and when we speak about implementation, we speak necessarily about the business community - because we cannot imagine solutions without it," Laurence Fabius said.

Mr Varin echoed this, framing COP30 as a unique opportunity for governments to create the enabling environments that allow private investment and innovation to scale, and highlighting ICC's clear priorities for governments in November.

"What has been missing is the enabling environment - that only governments can provide - to reach genuine scale in the deployment of green and climate resilient solutions," Philippe Varin said. "That is why, at ICC, we have launched what we call the 'Opportunity of a Lifetime' campaign […] to show what is possible and to press governments to deliver meaningful outcomes in Belém."

Building on this call for action, Mr Fabius outlined several priority areas for the COP30 - beyond the formal negotiations. These included:

• the urgent need to reduce methane, which he noted are too often overshadowed by the focus on CO2, despite their impact on global temperatures;
• the proposed Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a blended finance mechanism to incentivise countries to halt deforestation and protect tropical ecosystems;
• the greater participation of indigenous communities and role of local governments; and
• innovative climate finance solutions and interventions to scale up private capital (de-risking instruments, adjustments to macroprudential rules, catalytic role of multilateral development banks)

Mr Fabius also underlined the Brazilian Presidency's emphasis on creating a robust, structured Action Agenda to drive accountability and real-world results, and the pivotal role of the private sector in shaping a new climate economy.

"The private sector's participation is vital; and the opportunity is historic. Leading organisations such as … the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) … have long understood this, shaping the global conversation and advancing climate ambition across industries for decades," states the seventh letter from the Brazilian Presidency.

For Mr Varin and Fabius, the message to business was clear. Climate risks weigh heavily on the global economy, but the opportunities are transformational.

2025 is a critical year for the Paris Agreement. Ten years on, we need to rethink how we frame the challenge. And seeing challenges differently is what business and we are all about.  

ICC is committed to securing what businesses need at the upcoming climate negotiations, COP30, in Belém, Brazil. Learn more about our Opportunity of a Lifetime climate campaign and how to get involved.