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(gentle music)

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<v Narrator>For a long time,</v>

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climate change may have seemed like a threat

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in the distant future.

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This is no longer the case.

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Greater floods, heat waves, melting glaciers,

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dying forests, diminished harvests.

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For the first time in world history,

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people start seeing the impact of climate change

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in their everyday lives.

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<v ->There is nothing more urgent than finding a path</v>

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to net zero.

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In order to avoid the harmful effects of climate change,

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global emissions must be cut in half by 2030

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to stay on track with Paris Agreement goals

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and reach net zero by 2050.

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This is not easy.

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But for business, it represents both an imperative

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and an opportunity

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to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

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<v Narrator>Today's atmospheric CO2 concentration</v>

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is higher than at any point in the last 800,000 years.

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It may be the highest since as much as 15 million years ago,

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a period when humans did not yet exist and sea levels

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were 30 meters higher than they are today.

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In 1959, CO2 levels were at 316 parts per million.

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A year ago, they were above 410 parts per million.

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Everyone can do the maths.

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At the current pace, we will surpass 450 parts per million,

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the two degrees centigrade limit, in less than 20 years,

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with no credible way to turn back.

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<v ->We can still turn our economies</v>

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to reduce the use of fossil fuels across all sectors,

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but we need to act now.

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<v Narrator>Why the urgency?</v>

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A prominent tipping point,

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the irreversible meltdown of the Greenland ice cap,

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is triggered at around two degrees of warming.

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The melting would continuously raise sea levels

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by up to seven meters.

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Low-lying regions like the Netherlands

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would progressively drown.

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So would coastal cities like Manhattan and Shanghai.

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It would also make further warming uncontainable.

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Though the national commitments achieved in Paris

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are a first sign the world community is determined to act,

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our inaction so far has increased the stakes.

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The gap to a two degree pathway is widening.

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But there is good news.

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Reducing emissions is no longer primarily

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a technical problem.

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BCG research has shown that most countries

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can already meet around 80% of their two degree target

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without requiring new or unproven technologies.

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Even better, the economic case for countries that act

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can actually be positive.

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<v ->Companies across sectors have started to take action.</v>

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They're setting targets,

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they're embarking on emission reduction problems,

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they're reviewing and refining their strategies,

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and products, and business models for a low-carbon world.

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They're engaging with shareholders, investors, regulators,

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and potential partners to find solutions

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to minimize their climatic risks as they operate

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in ecosystems across the world.

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<v Narrator>We are embarking</v>

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on the largest peacetime transformation

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the global economy has ever seen.

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It's time to make it happen.