The window of opportunity for addressing climate change is closing. Over the next 16 months countries must agree on a new international treaty to address this global problem beyond 2012.

The time is short and the challenge great. To avoid a treaty of the lowest common denominator there is an urgent need to bridge differences between developed and developing countries, to harness the power and dynamism of the private sector and to build knowledge and support amongst key constituencies in business, civil society and politics.