Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene December 2018 Vol.13 No.6 | Page 4

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Guest Editorial
Climate CEOs managing $1.5 trillion call for Action
Heads of 50 major global businesses representing more than $1.5 trillion in total revenue
today publish an open letter to world government leaders urging greater collaboration to
accelerate outcomes in the race against climate change.
The business leaders call to action comes as government leaders prepare for the UN Climate
Change Conference COP24 (2-14 December) in Katowice, Poland, where countries are set
to finalize the Paris Agreement implementation guidelines to limit the global average rise in
temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“If we have twelve years to avoid a ‘hothouse’ earth, we absolutely cannot pursue a
business-as-usual approach. Business and government must forge new partnerships that are
able to drive results much more quickly than our current international architecture allows,”
said Dominic Waughray, Head of the Centre for Global Public Goods, Member of the
Managing Board, World Economic Forum.
The Alliance of Climate CEOs has also provided input into the UNFCCC Talanoa
Dialogue and companies will be looking for a clear signal from COP24 negotiations that
governments are willing to strengthen their engagement with the private sector. When they
meet in Davos in January 2019, a clear focus will be on setting goals for the UN Secretary
General’s Climate Summit in September 2019 to further support the urgent action needed
– a watershed moment for getting the planet on track to curb emissions and avoid global
temperature rise beyond 1.5oC.
Leaders from the Forum’s Alliance of Climate Action CEOs are committed to using their
positions to help meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals. Thirty of the companies that
signed the open letter succeeded in reducing emissions by 9%, (more than 47 million metric
tonnes in absolute terms) between 2015 and 2016, the equivalent of taking ten million cars
off the road for one year.
Alliance leaders call for greater public-private cooperation to accelerate effective carbon
pricing mechanisms and policies to incentivize low-carbon investment and drive demand
for carbon-reduction solutions. They also highlight the business case for cutting emissions
to generate wider support in the private sector.
“Business has an increasingly vital role to play in accelerating the shift to a low-carbon and
climate-resilient economy. This will require partnerships with other companies, governments
at all levels and civil society. It also requires bold leadership and good governance, which
will allow long-term creation of shareholder value alongside long-term value for our society.
We, as business leaders, are committed to climate action and stand ready to facilitate 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”,
said Feike Sijbesma, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board, Royal
DSM, and Chair of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders.
Source: UN Climate Change News
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • December 2018