Businesses have a key role to play in driving effective and credible action in response to the climate crisis. This includes financing, developing, and supplying climate solutions and technologies, as well as by progressively reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adverse impacts on carbon sinks in line with global temperature goals and by contributing to climate resilience and adaptation. Businesses are increasingly engaging in climate action, driven by stakeholders’ demands and expectations, a fast-evolving policy and regulatory landscape and an acute understanding of the financial risks posed by climate change. Setting net zero and emission reduction targets, adopting transition plans, and disclosing climate-related information are among the measures being adopted. In parallel, a range of voluntary methodologies, frameworks and coalitions have emerged to support investors and businesses in better managing and disclosing their exposure to climate change related risks and its financial impacts. This paper explores how OECD principles and standards on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) can support effective climate action by business in relation to climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, while supporting a just transition. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (the OECD Guidelines) and associated risk-based due diligence guidance can equip business with a useful framework to manage their adverse climate risks and impacts and align their conduct with climate policy goals. The OECD Guidelines constitute the only internationally agreed instrument calling on businesses to align their GHG emissions and impacts on carbon sinks with internationally agreed temperature goals, based on best-available science. They include expectations for climate mitigation as well as adaptation and call on companies to understand and respond to climate risks and impacts associated with their own activities and operations as well as those directly linked to their operations, products, and services by a business relationship. More specifically, the OECD Guidelines provide recommendations on: • Having commitments on climate mitigation and adaptation through science-based policies, strategies, and transition plans. • Adopting, implementing, monitoring, and reporting on short, medium and long-term mitigation targets which: o Are science-based. o Include absolute and also, where relevant, intensity based GHG reduction targets. o Take into account scope 1, 2, and, to the extent possible based on best available information, scope 3 GHG emissions. • Prioritising eliminating or reducing sources of emissions over offsetting, compensation, or neutralization measures in the context of climate mitigation actions • Avoiding activities, which undermine climate adaptation for, and resilience of, communities, workers and ecosystems. RBC instruments encourage a proactive, risk-based and engagement-centred approach to climate action. Under a risk-based approach businesses are encouraged to prioritise their most significant risks and take appropriate action. The RBC approach allows for continuous improvement over time and supports responsible engagement rather than de-risking wherever possible making it an appropriate framework to enable proactive action and transition-oriented and stakeholder driven approaches, which can contribute to effective and well-informed climate strategies. RBC instruments also provide a holistic framework for fostering consistency of business climate action with other environmental and social policy goals and contributing to a just transition. Further collaboration and dialogue between environment, labour, human rights, finance, and corporate governance policy communities will be important to supporting businesses in responding to and implementing growing expectations regarding climate action.