This week, just before COP24 in Poland, the CEO Climate Alliance, an informal group of CEOs facilitated by the World Economic Forum, has issued an open letter to world leaders. It is distributed to all key media. In addition, a targeted social media campaign is taking place, targeting COP24 attendees in particular. 

As chair of this group, I would like to share key elements of this letter with you. It has been signed by 50 CEOs, representing businesses generating over $1.3 trillion in revenues in 2017. The letter calls on world leaders to be more ambitious. It reiterates that the companies signing are committed to climate action and stand ready to help fast-track solutions to help world leaders deliver on an enhanced and more ambitious action plan to tackle climate change and meet the goals set out at the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

Specifically, the signatories to the open letter commit to:

• Continuing to reduce emissions using strategies that make the most sense for our business. This includes initiatives such as setting a (science-based) target, putting an internal price on carbon, reducing energy use, switching to renewable forms of power and working with partners to lower emissions across value chains. All of these efforts support the goals of the Paris Agreement.
• Be supportive of the thoughts behind the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, convened by the Financial Stability Board – and will advocate for improved analysis and reporting of climate-related financial risks.
• Calling on other businesses to jointly step-up climate action.
• Invest in innovations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and low carbon initiatives and companies.
   

At the same time, the group urges and supports world leaders to:

1. Implement effective carbon pricing mechanisms that drive a meaningful price on carbon across the globe.
    
2. Stimulate low-carbon finance and investments by offering coherent policies that shift financial flows from high carbon investments to the low carbon economy – stimulating innovation – and adaptation investments.
    
3. Develop policy tools that help educate and positively influence societal demand for low-carbon solutions.
    

Spread the word
​By working together, we believe we can manage to accelerate this transition and realize the future humanity wants and needs. We are ready to help government leaders and policymakers – with a clear milestone at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit in 2019 – to develop and implement an enhanced action plan for 2020 and beyond that is comprehensive, inclusive and ambitious.

It would be great if you and your media team too could help to acknowledge and spread the message to your stakeholders via social media and other means. I hope this open letter will provide some additional support to world leaders as we enter this crucial phase, knowing that a strong part of business supports bold climate action and delivery on the Paris targets.

With this statement from the private sector we hope to support governmental leaders to take progressive climate action during the upcoming COP.

Press release: Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders (PDF)