Copenhagen Summit: What Business Expects

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It's true in the telecom industry, for instance, where analysts say adding wireless communication to the electrical grid could make it vastly smarter. According to a recent report by consultants Accenture (ACN), greater use of wireless technology in the power distribution system could reduce energy costs in Europe by up to $64 billion by 2020. Similar savings also could be squeezed from other regions worldwide.

A Billion Mobile Connections

Where would the cost reductions come from? Peter Lacy, Accenture's Sustainability Practice Lead for Europe, Africa, and Latin America, says telcos could provide around a billion mobile connections that would make up the backbone of smart grid and meter investment. That would allow energy infrastructure components, such as renewable energy plants and electricity hubs, to communicate wirelessly with one another, reducing maintenance costs and giving companies more information about consumer habits. Similar uses also could be found in manufacturing, particularly in the automotive industry, which would allow machines to alter working patterns without human intervention.

"The inclusion of wireless technology [in fighting climate change] could truly be a disruptive innovation," says Lacy.

Indeed, companies will push ahead no matter what happens at the Copenhagen summit. But a climate change deal would give firms more impetus. World leaders are pushing hard for an agreement. On Nov. 25, President Barack Obama announced the U.S. would agree to a 17% cut in CO2 output by 2020 vs. 2005 levels. That mirrors similar targets working their way through Congress. A day later, China—one of the world's leading CO2 emitters—offered to cut carbon levels per unit of GDP by up to 45% by 2020, compared to 2005 figures. And media reports on Dec. 2 suggested India would follow suit, though the country would only reduce its carbon intensity by 25% over the same period.

Still, analysts remain doubtful that a binding agreement will come out of Copenhagen. Kristian Tangen, a senior expert at consultancy Point Carbon, says the most likely outcome from the summit will be a basic "framework" agreement with no specific targets. That would be followed up next year with legally binding details, such as how much carbon reduction each country will shoulder.

That may disappoint some who expect big changes from Copenhagen. But for businesses, that the world's biggest polluters are talking about CO2 cuts even without precise targets should be enough to push investment forward. "Whether a specific deal is done is less important than the direction we're traveling in," says Accenture's Lacy. "And for companies, that means green investment will become increasingly important."

Scott is a correspondent in BusinessWeek's London bureau.

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