A diverse group of more than 90 companies have signed a new statement calling on governments to boost the use of renewable energy and set scientifically informed targets for greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Among the signers of The Path to Climate Sustainability: A Joint Statement by the Global Roundtable on Climate Change are companies such as Allianz, Bayer, Citigroup, DuPont, General Electric, Volvo, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. (USGBC).
"Global businesses are assuming their just place as catalysts for action on climate change. But action by business alone is not enough," said Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric. "While we believe that applying technology against problems will create positive business opportunities that can result in positive change, national, state and local governments, academia and other non-governmental organizations must step forward with equal force. The Global Roundtable is an excellent venue focused on such a positive, proactive approach."
Calling climate change "an urgent problem," the statement lays out a proactive framework for global action to mitigate risks and impacts while also meeting the global need for energy, economic growth and sustainable development, USGBC says. The agreement also urges governments to place a price on carbon emissions and to set forth policies aimed at addressing energy efficiency and de-carbonization in all sectors. It outlines cost-effective technologies that exist today and others that could be developed and deployed to improve energy efficiency and help reduce CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases in major sectors of the global economy.
"Leaders from key economic sectors and regions of the world have reached a consensus on the path forward to reduce human-made climate change," said Jeffrey D. Sachs, Chair of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change and Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. "This initiative points the way to an urgently needed global framework for action. I congratulate the Roundtable signatories, and thank them for their bold leadership and contribution to global progress on this critical issue."
Since 2004, the diverse members of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change, an initiative of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, has convened more than 100 high-level stakeholders and experts twice a year to explore areas of potential consensus regarding core scientific, technological, and economic issues critical to shaping public policies on climate change. The Joint Statement is an outcome of these dialogues over the past three years.
