Shell, Adidas, and 70 Other Companies Call on Governments to Cap Carbon at 1 Trillion Tons

Unilever, Shell, BT, and EDF Energy are among 70 leading companies today calling on governments across the globe to step up efforts to tackle climate change.

The companies, which have a combined turnover of $90bn, say the world needs a "rapid and focused response" to the threat of rising global carbon emissions and the "disruptive climate impacts" associated with their growth.

“The threat of climate change is real and urgent,” Skanska AB Chief Executive Officer Johan Karlstrom said in the statement.  “From a business point of view, it is already a competitive advantage to be a leader in green but governments can speed up the progress substantially by setting up a level playing field that rewards the leaders in low carbon technology and energy efficiency.”

Governments from 194 nations are working to devise an emissions limiting treaty by the end of next year that will keep a 2-degree lid on temperature rises.  They’ll be guided by the United Nations’ most comprehensive report yet on climate change, which in September said the world has already emitted more than half the carbon compatible with the temperature target.

Shell, Adidas, and 70 Other Companies Call on Governments to Cap Carbon at 1 Trillion Tons