Those in charge at global retailers Ikea, Inditex and H&M are among more than 79 CEOs to add their names to an open letter calling for bold action on climate matters from the world leaders.
The Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, which also includes bosses at Unilever, Nestle, PepsiCo and some of the other biggest companies in the world, said they would “stand ready to work side by side with governments to support new green policies and transform the scale of public-private effort in the race to net-zero carbon emissions.
In the letter, the G7 and other world leaders are urged to “help supercharge the net-zero and climate resilience transition with bold and courageous commitments, policies, and actions”. The call for action on climate matters comes five months ahead of COP26, the UN climate change conference, which is to be hosted by the UK in Glasgow.
“With the ongoing challenge of the Covid pandemic, it is easy to forget that climate change is an immediate and growing threat to people, ecosystems, and economies – with our current trajectory leading us to potentially irreversible outcomes,” the letter starts.
“To avoid the worst impacts of climate change we need to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which will require nearly halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050. This drastic departure from today’s emissions growth trajectory requires bold action across private and public sectors five months before COP26 in November.”
It adds “many businesses are already stepping up”, claiming at least one-fifth of the world’s largest 2,000 public companies, several of which are led by the letter’s signatories, has committed to meet net-zero targets by mid-century or sooner.
But to decarbonise at the speed and scale required to achieve net-zero by 2050 at the latest, it warns, transformative policy change is urgently required. The alliance wants world leaders to:
- Publish ambitious and 1.5C-aligned Nationally Determined Contributions that halve emissions by 2030
- Commit to net-zero by 2050, underpinned by robust policy roadmaps and interim targets
- Ensure that developed countries meet and exceed their $100 billion commitment to support developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change, and ensure the major development finance institutions also commit to science-based guidelines across their lending portfolios.
Several business-specific action on climate matters are called for, including the development of credible decarbonisation targets, and disclosure about emissions across all scopes using consistent standards, and climate-related risks and opportunities.
The leaders also call for governments to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and cut tariffs on climate-friendly goods, and to boost research and development and funding for green tech innovation.
Various sector specific measures are mapped out, including support for the development of material and process carbon-efficiency standards, and encouragement for procurement of green industrial goods while promoting circularity of materials.
List of signatories
- Søren Skou, Chief Executive Officer, A.P. Møller-Maersk
- Björn Rosengren, Chief Executive Officer, ABB
- Julie Sweet, Chief Executive Officer, Accenture
- José Manuel Entrecanales, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ACCIONA
- Oliver Bäte, Chief Executive Officer, Allianz
- Alan Belfield, Group Chair, Arup
- Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca
- Thomas Buberl, Chief Executive Officer, AXA
- Manny Maceda, Chief Executive Officer, Bain & Company
- Martin Brudermüller, Chief Executive Officer, BASF
- Werner Baumann, Chief Executive Officer, Bayer
- Carlos Torres Vila, Chairman, BBVA
- Michel Vounatsos, Chief Executive Officer, Biogen
- Rich Lesser, Chief Executive Officer, Boston Consulting Group, Chief Advisor, Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders
- Aiman Ezzat, Chief Executive Officer, Capgemini
- Ion Yadigaroglu, Managing Partner, Capricorn Investment Group
- Cees ‘t Hart, Chief Executive Officer, Carlsberg
- Mahendra Singhi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dalmia Cement (Bharat)
- Kim Fausing, President and Chief Executive Officer, Danfoss
- Punit Renjen, Global Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte
- Wendy Clark, Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu International
- Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Post DHL
- Francesco Starace, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Enel
- Catherine MacGregor, Chief Executive Officer, Engie Group
- Carmine Di Sibio, Global Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, EY
- Poul Due Jensen, Chief Executive Officer, Grundfos
- Helena Helmersson, Chief Executive Officer, H&M Group
- Dolf van den Brink, Chief Executive Officer, HEINEKEN
- Antonio Neri, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Ignacio S. Galán, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Iberdrola
- Pablo Isla, Chairman, Inditex
- Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Infosys
- Steven van Rijswijk, Chief Executive Officer, ING
- Jesper Brodin, Chief Executive Officer, Ingka Group, I IKEA, Co-Chair, Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders
- Steve Demetriou, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Jacobs Engineering Group
- Christian Ulbrich, Chief Executive Officer, JLL
- George R. Oliver, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson Controls International
- Alex Liu, Managing Partner and Chairman of the Board, Kearney
- Bill Thomas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, KPMG International
- Tex Gunning, Chief Executive Officer, LeasePlan
- Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer, Lenzing Group
- Hak Cheol Shin, Chief Executive Officer, LG Chem
- H.S.H. Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein, Chairman, LGT
- Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group
- Alain Bejjani, Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim
- Jonas Prising, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Manpower Group
- Mike Haigh, Chair of the Executive Board, Mott MacDonald
- Mark Schneider, Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé
- Tom Palmer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Newmont Corporation
- Vas Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer, Novartis
- Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, Chief Executive Officer, Novo Nordisk
- Ester Baiget, Chief Executive Officer, Novozymes
- Philippe Knoche, Chief Executive Officer, Orano
- Mads Nipper, Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Ørsted
- Torben Möger Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer, Pension Denmark
- Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo
- Robert E. Moritz, Global Chairman, PwC
- Dimitri De Vreeze, Co-CEO, Royal DSM
- Feike Sybesma, Honorary Chairman, Royal DSM, Founder and Honorary Co-Chair, Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders
- Frans van Houten, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Philips
- Marc Benioff, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce
- Christian Levin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Scania
- Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Schneider Electric
- Roland Busch, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens
- Eric Rondolat, Chief Executive Officer, Signify
- Ilham Kadri, Chief Executive Officer, Solvay
- Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank
- Takeshi Niinami, Chief Executive Officer, Suntory Holdings
- Christian Mumenthaler, Group Chief Executive Officer, Swiss Re, Co-Chair, Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders
- J. Erik Fyrwald, Chief Executive Officer, Syngenta Group
- Christophe Weber, President and Chief Executive Officer, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
- Börje Ekholm, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ericsson
- Michael W. Lamach, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Trane Technologies
- Alan Jope, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever
- Henrik Andersen, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vestas Wind Systems
- Thierry Delaporte, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Wipro
- Svein Tore Holsether, Chief Executive Officer and President, Yara
- Wolf-Henning Scheider, Chief Executive Officer, ZF Friedrichshafen
- Mario Greco, Group Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Insurance Company
[Image credit: H&M Group]