More than 200 global organisations have now joined The Climate Pledge and are pursuing ambitious carbon-reduction activities, including operational changes in the race to fight climate change.
The 86 new signatories joining The Climate Pledge include Procter & Gamble, HP, Salesforce, ASOS, and Nespresso. Pledge signatories in total generate over $1.8 trillion 8€1.54 trillion) in global annual revenues and have more than 7 million employees across 26 industries in 21 countries. By achieving net-zero carbon by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement, current Climate Pledge signatories are expected to collectively mitigate 1.98 billion metric tons (BMT) of carbon emissions from a 2020 baseline. This is equivalent to 5.4% of current global annual emissions—demonstrating the collective impact The Climate Pledge is expected to have in addressing climate change and prompting more action to tackle the climate crisis.
“The urgency of the climate crisis demands that we take bold action to protect our planet, and The Climate Pledge is another step in the right direction,” said Enrique Lores, President and CEO of HP Inc. “HP has committed to some of the most comprehensive and aggressive climate actions in the technology sector, and we are driving this agenda across our product and service portfolio, operational footprint, and broader value chain to maximize our impact. We have a huge opportunity to power the future growth of our business while creating a more sustainable future.”
Businesses have played a role in contributing to climate change, but deep cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases could stabilize increasing temperatures. This is why urgent, ambitious action by companies around the world is needed. The Climate Pledge signatories are uniquely positioned to rise to the challenge of addressing climate change and helping to create the low-carbon economy of the future.
This latest announcement responds to the findings of the latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which underscores the need for increased urgency in addressing the climate crisis. Unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5 degrees Celsius or even 2 degrees Celsius will be out of reach.
“The recent report released by the IPCC is the starkest warning yet that the systems supporting human life are reaching tipping points and that the window of time to act decisively is narrowing,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former climate chief and now founding partner of Global Optimism. “This wake up call from science must be faced with courage and conviction. In this light, it’s encouraging that 86 more companies – some of the largest household names in the world – are now joining The Climate Pledge, committing to accelerate their actions to tackle climate change in a timely fashion, and playing their part in building a low-carbon economy. I look forward to the fruits of the leadership we will see from this collective of 200 signatories that are now part of The Climate Pledge.”
