CEOs of 78 companies and more than 2,000 academics sign letters calling on world heads to do more to limit global warming

Desdemona Despair

By Emma Howard
23 November 2015

(The Guardian) – More than 2,000 academics from over 80 countries – including linguist Noam Chomsky, climate scientist Michael E Mann, philosopher Peter Singer, and historian Naomi Oreskes – have called on world leaders to do more to limit global warming to a 1.5C rise.

In an open letter, they write that leaders meeting in Paris at a crunch UN climate summit next week should “be mustering planet-wide mobilisation, at all societal levels” and call for citizens around the world to hold their leaders to account on the issue.

The world has already warmed by 1C above pre-industrial levels. Holding warming to 1.5C would be a far greater challenge than the 2C that leaders at previous climate talks have agreed to limit rises to. Current emissions pledges tabled ahead of the Paris summit would see warming of around 2.7-3C.

They say that such a rise is: “profoundly shocking, given that any sacrifice involved in making those reductions is far overshadowed by the catastrophes we are likely to face if we do not.”

Separately, the CEOs from 78 companies collectively worth over $2tn – among them Nestlé, Accenture, HSBC, Lloyd’s, Microsoft, BT Group, PepsiCo, Siemens, SOHO China, UniLever, PwC, Marks & Spencer and the Mahindra Group – have pledged their support to governments to implement ambitious targets. [more]

More than 2,000 academics call on world heads to do more to limit global warming

(globalclimatechangeweek.com) – Some issues are of such ethical magnitude that being on the correct side of history becomes a signifier of moral character for generations to come. Global warming is such an issue. Indigenous peoples and the developing world are least responsible for climate change, least able to adapt to it, and most vulnerable to its impacts. As the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris approaches, the leaders of the industrialized world shoulder a grave responsibility for the consequences of our current and past carbon emissions.

Yet it looks unlikely that the international community will mandate even the greenhouse gas reductions necessary to give us a two thirds chance of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. At the moment, even if countries meet their current non-binding pledges to reduce carbon emissions, we will still be on course to reach 3 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. This is profoundly shocking, given that any sacrifice involved in making those reductions is far overshadowed by the catastrophes we are likely to face if we do not: more extinctions of species and loss of ecosystems; increasing vulnerability to storm surges; more heatwaves; more intense precipitation; more climate related deaths and disease; more climate refugees; slower poverty reduction; less food security; and more conflicts worsened by these factors. Given such high stakes, our leaders ought to be mustering planet-wide mobilization, at all societal levels, to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

We undersigned concerned academics, researchers, and scientists from around the world recognize the seriousness of our environmental situation and the special responsibility we owe our communities, future generations, and our fellow species. We will strive to meet that responsibility in our educational and communicative endeavors. We call upon our leaders to do what is necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change. With just as much urgency, we call upon our fellow citizens to hold their leaders responsible for vigorously addressing global warming. [more]

Open Letter from Academics to World Leaders ahead of the Paris Climate Conference 2015

23 November 2015 (World Economic Forum) – We are CEOs from 78 companies and 20 economic sectors. With operations in over 150 countries and territories, together we generated over $2.1 trillion of revenue in 2014.

In the spirit of the World Economic Forum to foster public-private cooperation, we affirm that the private sector has a responsibility to engage actively in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to help the world move to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.

We call upon governments to take bold action at the Paris climate conference (COP 21) in December 2015 to secure a more prosperous world for all of us. We are already taking action, and we stand ready to work together with the international community to help deliver practical climate solutions.

Below is a statement we prepared that outlines our vision:

Climate change is one of the biggest global challenges that will shape the way we do business now and in the coming decades.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties 21 (COP21), to be held in Paris in December 2015, aims to deliver a new climate change agreement that will put the world on track to a low-carbon, sustainable future while keeping the rise in global temperature to under 2 degrees Celsius.

This coalition, comprising CEOs from 78 companies with operations in over 150 countries and territories, and facilitated by the World Economic Forum, believes the private sector has a responsibility to actively engage in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and to help lead the global transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. This coalition further seeks to catalyze and aggregate action and initiatives from companies from all industry sectors — towards delivering concrete climate solutions and innovations in their practices, operations and policies.

The undersigned, as CEO climate leaders, urge the world’s leaders to reach an ambitious climate deal at COP21, aligned with the UN Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We extend an open offer to national governments to meet and co-design tangible actions as well as ambitious, effective targets that are appropriate for their different jurisdictions.

Our commitments

• The companies we represent are taking voluntary actions to reduce environmental and carbon footprints, setting targets to reduce our own GHG gas emissions and/or energy consumption while also collaborating in supply chains and at sectoral levels. Technological innovations will be an important element.
• We agree on the need for inspirational and meaningful global action and aligned messaging. We will act as ambassadors for climate action, focusing on solutions and economic opportunities and using “the science debate is over: climate change is real and addressable”* as one of the common themes to raise public awareness.
• We will actively manage climate risks and incorporate them in decision making — not least to realize growth opportunities. We will take steps to implement effective strategies to strengthen not only our companies’ but also societal resilience.

Our vision supporting a climate deal

• We believe that effective climate policies have to include explicit or implicit prices on carbon achieved via market mechanisms or coherent legislative measures according to national preferences, which will trigger low-carbon investment and transform current emission patterns at a significant scale. We support global mitigation approaches that promote cost effective incentives for cutting emissions, while respecting level playing fields and preventing carbon leakage.
• We urge a strategic action agenda — supported by clear and consistent policies and robust monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) — that will complement business efforts to stimulate innovation as well as collaborative actions across value chains, and to develop and scale up alternative and renewable energy sources, promote energy efficiency, end deforestation and accelerate other low-carbon options and technologies such as ICT.
• We welcome transparency and disclosure regarding financial investments and policies in relation to all energy-related activities — including fossil-based and alternative. We support assessments of resilience to climate risks and call for new financial instruments to stimulate alternative energy and efficiency projects as well as green bonds. This will enable climate action to be integrated with financial reporting and instruments.
• We encourage governments to set science-based global and national targets for the reduction of GHG emissions and the development of alternative energy sources.

Hastening the shift to a low-carbon economy in an economically sustainable manner will generate growth and jobs in both the developing and developed world. Delaying action is not an option — it will be costly and will damage growth prospects in the years to come. The CEO climate leaders call on government leaders and policy makers to align on global measures, to be consistent in policy-making and to develop helpful innovation frameworks.

A comprehensive, inclusive and ambitious climate deal in Paris on mitigation, adaptation and finance — in combination with a strong set of clear policy signals from the world’s leaders — is key to accelerating this transition. This opportunity should not be missed.

* We will build on the data presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the UN, NASA, and the New Climate Economy Report (“Seizing the Global Opportunity”) of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.

Signatories

Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO, ABB ª *
Pierre Nanterme, Chairman and CEO, Accenture ª *
José Manuel Entrecanales Domecq, Chairman and CEO, Acciona ª * ^
Ton Büchner, CEO, AkzoNobel ª
Philippe Camus, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Alcatel-Lucent
Oliver Bäte, Chairman of the Board of Management (CEO), Allianz SE ª
Gregory Hodkinson, Chairman, Arup Group ª
Johan C. Aurik, Managing Partner and Chairman of the Board, A.T. Kearney ª
Carlos Fadigas, CEO, Braskem
Gavin Patterson, CEO, BT Group ª * ^
Paulo Roberto de Souza, CEO, Copersucar *
Niels B. Christiansen, President and CEO, Danfoss ª
Frank Appel, CEO, Deutsche Post DHL Group ª *
Timotheus Höttges, CEO, Deutsche Telekom
Nigel Knowles, Global Co-Chairman, DLA Piper ª
Henrik Poulsen, CEO, DONG Energy ª
Francesco Starace, CEO and General Manager, Enel SpA ª
Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman and CEO, Engie ª *
Hans E. Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson ª
Marcelo Strufaldi Castelli, CEO, Fibria Celulose *
Bernardo Gradin, CEO, GranBio Investimentos ª
Dong Mingzhu, Chairperson and President of Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai ª
Kasper Rorsted, CEO, Henkel AG & Co ª *
Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Construction Company ª
Stuart Gulliver, Group CEO, HSBC Holdings ª
Ignacio S. Galán, Chairman and CEO, Iberdrola ª
Peter Agnefjäll, President and CEO, IKEA Group ª *
Vishal Sikka, CEO, Infosys ª *
Ralph Hamers, CEO, ING Group ª
Ravi Uppal, Group MD & CEO, Jindal Steel & Power ª
Alex Molinaroli, Chairman, President and CEO, Johnson Controls ª
Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Steel ª
Fabio Schvartsman, CEO, Klabin
Sandra Wu Wen-Hsiu, Chairperson and CEO, Kokusai Kogyo Co. ª
Eric Olsen, CEO, LafargeHolcim ª *
Inga Beale, CEO, Lloyd’s ª
Anand G. Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group ª
Jonas Prising, CEO, ManpowerGroup ª
Marc Bolland, CEO, Marks and Spencer ª
Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer, Microsoft ª
Nikolaus von Bomhard, Chairman of the Board of Management, Munich Re ª
Paul Bulcke, CEO, Nestlé ª *
Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo Inc ª *
Torben Möger Pedersen, CEO, PensionDanmark ª
Eric Rondolat, CEO, Philips Lighting ª
Dennis Nally, Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers International *
Feike Sijbesma, CEO and Chairman of the Managing Board, Royal DSM ª * ^
Eelco Blok, CEO, Royal KPN
Frans van Houten, President and CEO, Royal Philips ª * ^
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and CEO, Schneider Electric ª *
Eric Luo, CEO, Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited ª
Joe Kaeser, President and CEO, Siemens ª *
Franky Oesman Widjaja, Chairman and CEO, Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food ª
Zhang Xin (CEO) and Pan Shiyi (Chairman), Co-Founders, SOHO China ª
Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO, Solvay ª *
Christian Rynning-Tønnesen, President and CEO, Statkraft ª *
Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO, Suez ª *
Takeshi Niinami, President and CEO, Suntory Holdings ª
Walter Schalka, CEO, Suzano Pulp and Paper ª *
Tulsi Tanti, Chairman, Suzlon Energy ª
Michel M. Liès, Group CEO, Swiss Re ª
Cyrus P. Mistry, Chairman, Tata Sons ª *
Michel Giannuzzi, CEO, Tarkett ª
Donald R. Lindsay, President & CEO, Teck Resources ª
Andrew N. Liveris, President, Chairman and CEO, The Dow Chemical
Company ª *
David W. Kenny, Chairman and CEO, The Weather Company ª
Masashi Muromachi, Chairman of the Board, Toshiba Corporation ª *
Gao Jifan, Chairman and CEO, Trina Solar ª
Sergio Ermotti, CEO, UBS Group ª
Oleg Deripaska, President, UC Rusal ª
Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever ª * ^
Antoine Frérot, Chairman and CEO, Veolia ª *
Anders Runevad, Group President and CEO, Vestas Wind Systems ª
Anthony Pratt, Executive Chairman, Visy Industries ª
João Carvalho de Miranda, CEO, Votorantim Industrial *
Vineet Mittal, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Welspun Energy ª
Kuok Khoon Hong, Chairman and CEO, Wilmar International ª
T.K. Kurien, CEO, Wipro Limited ª

ª Members of the World Economic Forum
*Member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
^Member of the Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change

Open letter from CEOs to world leaders urging climate action