Today, all eyes will be on the more than 120 heads of state descending upon the United Nations to tell the world their plans for cutting emissions and forging a new global treaty. Business leaders -- some of whom have long been outspoken about global warming and others of whom are just starting to emerge on the topic -- said yesterday that they see their job as helping to pave the way for an ambitious agreement in 2015.
"We need bold commitments," said IKEA CEO Peter Agnefjäll. "On the one hand, we need clear signals of where we are headed in 2020, 2025, 2030. But if we could have an agreement that publicly indicates where we are going in the long run, that would be helpful for investments."
A pledge with few specifics
In the day's biggest announcement, more than 1,000 companies and 73 countries -- including China and Russia, but not the United States -- joined with the World Bank to embrace a price on carbon. Some of the companies on the list include British Airways, the clothing chain H&M, China Steel Corp., PepsiCo, pharmaceutical company Pfizer and Royal Dutch Shell PLC.
"To have half the global population and 1,000 of the leading companies come together and say 'We want this to happen' makes it more real for me than it ever has been in history," said World Bank President Jim Kim.
The announcements at the opening day of New York's Climate Week came against the backdrop of a sweeping new report from the We Mean Business coalition, "The Climate Has Changed," making the business case for net-zero emissions by midcentury and an aggressive turn now toward clean energy to ensure the transition. It calls for the private sector to embrace the science showing that man-made greenhouse gas emissions have already driven global temperatures to a mean rise of 1.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century; to set ambitious targets across their supply chains; and to advocate for local and international action.
Global Business Leaders Back Carbon Price at N.Y. Summit
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