Climate change is not going away. Global temperatures could reach catastrophic levels if emissions are not cut annually by 7.6% up to 2030, the UN warns.

From consumers at tills, recruits during interviews, investors at their annual meeting, and so on, businesses are under pressure on all sides to show their commitment to climate change. Corporate contributions to climate action are encouraging policymakers to think ambitiously and to act boldly. 

In a critical year for climate action, five years on from the landmark Paris Agreement and with the clock ticking for countries to ratchet up ambition before the end of 2020, it is pleasing to see the open letter by 185 Chief Executives to European government leaders expressing their support for the European Union’s Green Deal recovery package. 

The CEOs, investors, and business and investor networks from the likes of ALSTOM, AstraZeneca, Deutsche Bank, Google, IKEA, EDF, Unilever, etc., are calling on EU policymakers to support an EU 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target of at least 55 percent, necessary to raise the pace and focus of transition efforts for the EU to become a climate-neutral continent by 2050.

The business world is interconnected. Companies that are genuinely committed to climate change, need to work with each other in the industry, with players in their supply chain, and with the government and policymakers as everyone must be in it together to achieve success. Nothing is more likely to engender distrust among policymakers and the public than a dissonance between words and action, warns Jen Austin, policy director for a UN-backed team of climate action champions linked to next year’s Glasgow annual climate summit.  

Let’s all hope that companies, business leaders, and individuals take the step now to “Change today for a better tomorrow”!