In a collaborative move that’s happily becoming a trend, 57 leading organizations across a variety of industries — including the Climate Group, Ecover, GE, IKEA, Interface, Tesco, Unilever, and notably, energy companies such as Shell and Dong Energy — have published an open letter to the European Council, to support stronger 2030 climate goals at meetings later this month, ahead of COP21 in Paris next year. You can read the short letter in full below.Dear EU Heads of State and Government,Our 57 companies, funds and associations represent more than 4.5 million employees worldwide. We each acknowledge responsibility for a sustainable economic future for Europe.
In a collaborative move that’s happily becoming a trend, 57 leading organizations across a variety of industries — including the Climate Group, Ecover, GE, IKEA, Interface, Tesco, Unilever, and notably, energy companies such as Shell and Dong Energy — have published an open letter to the European Council, to support stronger 2030 climate goals at meetings later this month, ahead of COP21 in Paris next year. You can read the short letter in full below.
Dear EU Heads of State and Government,
Our 57 companies, funds and associations represent more than 4.5 million employees worldwide. We each acknowledge responsibility for a sustainable economic future for Europe.
Timely decisions about the cornerstones of EU’s energy and climate policies beyond 2020 will substantially support confidence for the important investments. We would like to contribute towards a modern, resource-efficient and low-carbon growth as a central driver for Europe’s economic recovery and competitiveness agenda, energy security aims, and delivering sustainable growth and job creation for decades to come.
We remain increasingly concerned at the costs, risks and impacts associated with delayed action on climate change on our markets, supply chains, resource costs and upon society as a whole.
We therefore urge you to agree at the European Council on 23rd and 24th October 2014, a robust 2030 energy and climate policy framework and energy security strategy that is fully in line with Europe’s long-term climate objectives and that can deliver a global climate change agreement at the 2015 Paris CoP. Planning security is vital for sustainable investments. We further call for an early structural reform of the EU ETS.
Yours sincerely,
3M, Acciona, Águas de Portugal, Aldersgate Group, Alstom, Barilla, BDEW, Bilfinger Power Systems, BWE, Carbon Capture and Storage Association, CEZ, Climate Change Capital, Climate Markets & Investment Association, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Dansk Energi, Dong Energy, Doosan Power, DSM, Electricité de France, Ecover, Eneco, E.On, Eurogas, EURELECTRIC, EUGINE, EUTurbines, EnBW, Energie Nederland, EnergiNorge, Ferrovial, Fortum, GDF Suez, General Electric, Gorenje Surovina, GSK, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, IKEA Group, Interface, International Emissions Trading Association, Kingfisher, Mirova, Novo Nordisk, Novozymes, Philips, Shell, Skanska, SSE, Statkraft, STF, SWM, Tesco, The Climate Group, The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group, Unilever, Vattenfall, VELUX Group, VERBUND.
In a similar initiative just last month, the Climate Group brought together IKEA, Philips, Swiss Re, BT, Formula E, H&M, Mars, Nestlé and a host of other companies during Climate Week to launch a multi-year initiative to encourage major companies to commit to using 100 percent renewable power. With the goal that “by 2020, 100 of the world’s largest businesses will have committed to 100 percent renewable power,” the RE100 campaign will highlight the business and reputational benefits enjoyed by companies that make the commitment to use power exclusively from renewable energy sources.
Published Oct 13, 2014 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST