Elements of Responsible Leadership in Driving Climate Action (SDG 13)

Abstract

The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change calls for ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation efforts to limit global warming to a maximum 2 °C to curb climate change. Both the Paris Agreement and the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) emphasise the role of non-state actors, such as private sector companies, in setting ambitious mitigation targets. Leaders in the private sector are seen as critical in developing and implementing GHG emission targets. Thus, this study aimed to identify three elements of responsible leadership (RL) (the building of stakeholder relationships and RL drivers and roles) in climate action, specifically GHG target setting. Methodologically the study followed a grounded theory, inductive approach, analysing a single case study and the Equity Method for GHG emission target setting developed by Promethium Carbon. The findings showed that elements of RL did contribute to driving climate action in the private sector and are, therefore, the appropriate approach to address climate change. However, there is room for expansion in the RL definition and elements of the theory to develop an appropriate description of responsible climate leadership for developing countries. Based on the findings and analysis, a conceptual framework for responsible climate leadership in a developing country context was proposed.