As we prepare for COP30, the Centre for Climate Engagement continues to support the UN Climate Change High Level Champions’ Climate-Proofing SMEs campaign. Maureen Abel worked on the project as part of her summer internship, and she talked to us about the experience and her findings.
Can you describe your role in gathering and synthesising academic evidence for the Climate Proofing SMEs campaign?
My primary responsibility was conducting a systematic literature review examining how governments can best support SMEs to address their emissions and climate risk exposure. This involved reviewing academic articles, policy reports, and case studies to understand the current landscape of SME climate action and government support mechanisms.
The synthesis process required developing a structured analytical framework around three core research questions: identifying structural constraints limiting SME climate action, evaluating existing government support mechanisms and their effectiveness, and analysing evidence on cost-effective versus ineffective climate solutions for these enterprises. I systematically categorised barriers into policy exclusion issues, technical and economic constraints, and the structural heterogeneity challenges that make SMEs so diverse yet overlooked.
What struck me most during this process was discovering just how significant SMEs are globally. They constitute 90% of businesses worldwide, contribute 70% of employment and 50% of GDP. They also account for at least 13% of global final energy consumption and 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this massive collective impact, they’re systematically excluded from major environmental policies and sustainability frameworks designed for large corporations.
What trends or patterns emerged from the evidence regarding how governments can support SMEs in addressing climate emissions and risks?
The literature revealed three distinct but interconnected policy categories that prove most effective: prescriptive measures (regulations, mandates, agreements), economic instruments (tax reliefs, financial support, cap-and-trade systems), and supportive approaches (capacity building, information assistance, cooperation programmes).
The evidence consistently showed that stakeholder collaboration networks prove most effective – involving regional economic development organisations, chambers of commerce, university research centres, and technical experts performing complementary sustainability support roles. Also, middle actors, that is, intermediary stakeholders such as building professionals, architects, builders, retailers, and supply chain members who play a crucial role in facilitating SME climate transitions by initiating and promoting infrastructural changes, are particularly crucial for initiating changes in the SMEs, but they require government facilitation to function effectively.
Most importantly, I discovered that universal policies targeting technologies, products, and buildings tend to include SMEs naturally, whilst organisation-focused policies systematically exclude them through minimum thresholds and complexity requirements designed for large corporations.
What are the key barriers for SMEs in their climate transition?
My analysis identified three interconnected barrier categories that create a perfect storm preventing SME climate action. Policy exclusion represents the most fundamental constraint – SMEs are systematically excluded from major environmental and energy policies, sustainability guidelines, and most business energy support schemes. This exclusion is often justified through administrative efficiency arguments, but it leaves SMEs without dedicated climate action instruments despite their substantial collective impact.
Technical and economic barriers create the second major constraint cluster. SMEs face high investment costs with low capital availability, lack relevant expertise to implement sustainability management tools like Lifecycle Analysis, and struggle with information deficits about cost-benefit analysis and technology options. The literature showed that 37% of potential energy savings require no capital investment – just behavioural changes like adjusting thermostats and switching off unused equipment – yet SMEs often lack awareness of these opportunities.
The third category involves SMEs’ structural and behavioural heterogeneity. These businesses range from sole traders to 250-employee firms across vastly different sectors, management structures, and operational contexts. This diversity creates varied energy usage patterns that make uniform policy design challenging, though it simultaneously offers opportunities for tailored approaches leveraging niche market innovation that remain largely underutilised.
Owner-manager personal values and organisational cultures significantly impact environmental decisions, with most not actively seeking environmental advice because they perceive little business environmental impact and consider pro-environmental actions expensive.
Reflecting on the progression from COP29 to COP30, what impact do you hope the academic evidence you helped compile will have on policy, networks, or SME engagement?
The literature review demonstrates that realising SME climate potential requires fundamental transformation in policy design philosophy – from protection through exemption to engagement through inclusion. For COP30, I hope our evidence contributes to recognition that administrative efficiency achieved through large-corporation focus must be balanced against the substantial aggregate impact of comprehensive SME engagement.
The research reveals remarkable untapped potential – SMEs can achieve 18-30% energy savings through efficiency measures, with up to 37% of savings achievable through zero-capital behavioural changes. When you consider that SMEs account for 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions, this represents an enormous opportunity for accelerating climate action.
I’m particularly hopeful that the findings on market-driven sustainability opportunities will influence COP30 discussions. The evidence shows 68% of surveyed SMEs have positive sustainability perspectives, with 60% driven primarily by customer and market demand rather than regulatory requirements. This suggests that positioning climate action as enabling business objectives – through reduced operational costs, new market access, and talent attraction – could be far more effective than purely regulatory approaches.
The stakeholder collaboration networks identified also offer a scalable model for international knowledge sharing. I envision COP30 facilitating connections between successful regional programmes and countries seeking to develop SME climate policies. Most importantly, I hope this work contributes to transforming the narrative around SMEs from climate laggards to empowered drivers of the just transition to net zero.
What drew you to apply for an internship at the Centre and what advice would you give other students considering an internship in this field?
I was drawn to the Academic Engagement programme at the Centre because of its unique role in bridging the gap between academic research and real-world policy engagement. I had always been curious about how scholarly work could move beyond journals and conferences to actually shape the decisions of policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders. The internship offered me the opportunity to see this process in action. Through the project, I understood how evidence and ideas from academia can inform climate strategies and influence conversations at the highest levels, including preparation for COP30.
My advice to other students would be to approach an internship in this field with both curiosity and openness. Academic engagement is not about simply producing research. It’s about translating complex findings into insights that are accessible, actionable, and impactful. This requires not just strong research and writing skills but also the ability to listen carefully to diverse perspectives and to adapt your outputs for audiences ranging from government officials to business leaders.
I would encourage students to value collaboration, embrace interdisciplinary thinking, and remain attentive to the real-world relevance of their academic work. It is in that intersection, where research meets practice, that the most exciting contributions emerge.
How was your experience as an intern at CCE, and will it inform your future career decisions?
My experience as an intern at CCE was both inspiring and formative. Working in the Academic Engagement programme allowed me to see how scholarly research can be transformed into practical insights that inform stakeholders preparing for international climate negotiations. This experience helped me understand the crucial pathway between academic evidence and tangible policy impact, something I had only read about before but was now able to witness directly.
Working with Dr Eldrid Herrington and Claire Ng was particularly valuable. They exemplified how academic engagement professionals play a vital role in ensuring research maintains its rigour while also becoming accessible and actionable. Observing their approach taught me that it is possible to remain faithful to academic depth while making research meaningful to those designing policy or leading organisations.
The project itself was transformative for me. It demonstrated that research is not just an intellectual exercise, it has the power to influence outcomes when presented in ways that resonate with stakeholders. Working on the literature synthesis and seeing its direct link to the Centre’s COP30 campaign gave me clarity about the kind of career I want to pursue. I now see myself working in spaces where research directly informs solutions to pressing global challenges, whether in climate policy, research institutions that engage with practitioners, or international organisations that translate evidence into action.
This experience has shaped my career vision. It confirmed my desire to remain at the intersection of research and practice, contributing to the bridge between knowledge and action. I now carry with me the lesson that research achieves its greatest impact when it connects academic rigour with the urgency and practicality of real-world decision-making.
This experience has shaped my career vision. It confirmed my desire to remain at the intersection of research and practice, contributing to the bridge between knowledge and action. I now carry with me the lesson that research achieves its greatest impact when it connects academic rigour with the urgency and practicality of real-world decision-making.
Find out more and register your interest in the SME campaign before COP30:
Apply for future internships
We’ll start recruiting for our next Summer Internship Programme in early 2026. This four-week paid opportunity is open to students from UK universities, offering real-world experience at the interface of climate change, law, governance, and public policy. Follow our accounts on social media or sign up to our quarterly newsletter here to find out when applications open.
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