Collaborative action has been in short supply on the geopolitical stage, yet it lies at the heart of how we’re going to adapt the world to a changing climate. COP28 is so important to this and has so much potential.

It’s the biggest stage for climate change collaboration that we have and at its best it has the power to turn the dial on global action. We saw it with the Paris Agreement, and we must ensure it continues to be a forum for action.

Business has a significant role to play in reducing our climate and nature impact. By doing this, we will deliver for the customers and consumers of the future who want less waste and more sustainable brands and partners.

We believe the corporate incentive to invest in ESG has never been stronger. It’s a triple win benefiting communities, customers and performance. And while some may shy away from talking about it, investing in sustainability can drive growth and opportunity, while also reducing future costs and increasing efficiency.

We expect to invest £1 billion ESG projects for Diageo by 2030. To date, we have replenished water in water-stressed areas such as India, invested in drones to improve water efficiency at our agave farms in Mexico, and installed biomass boilers in Kenya and Uganda to reduce carbon. Now we need the infrastructure to deliver more.

Ultimately, no company or sector can deliver full decarbonisation alone. That’s why we joined more than 200 other companies in signing the We Mean Business Coalition’s Fossil to Clean Campaign in the leadup to COP.

For a company that has set a science-based target, as we have, it’s implicit that we will need to phase out fossil fuels to meet The that target. Fossil to Clean principles make this explicit. A high-tension electricity power line pylon is seen in front of power-generating windmill turbines at a wind park in Couffe.

But the campaign also highlights that collaboration from businesses will only get us so far. Put simply, we need governments to put in place and support the delivery of essential infrastructure that we can then use to improve our own operations. We need quicker progress in renewable energy infrastructure, cleaner transportation and improved water infrastructure.

Take emissions. We have set an ambition to achieve net zero emissions across our direct operations by 2030. We’ve made good progress, but to achieve that we need more renewable electricity. We can only use what is available to us on the market. Slow progress on new renewable infrastructure, poor grid connections and in certain countries, cumbersome legislation, are holding us back.

The same is true in reducing agricultural emissions. Regenerative agriculture has the potential to significantly reduce farming’s impact on the environment, with our pilot programme in Ireland showing that the implementation of low-carbon fertilisers could potentially reduce emissions from our Guinness farms by 30 per cent.

Where companies have a responsibility to improve their operations, governments must own the responsibility to deliver and support the public infrastructure and set up the policy environment that companies, and communities, need to make that transition.

The Declaration on Food Systems, Agriculture and Climate Action at COP28 has brought agricultural emissions to the forefront of the climate debate and is an important step towards meaningful government action on this issue.

With COP28 now behind us, that is the challenge. For our part, we stand ready to make the investments in our business and communities for the long-term success of people and the planet. We need governments to commit to doing the same.

• A Reuters report