“The impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt around the world and it’s encouraging to see people uniting to weather this crisis, but we must not lose sight of the urgent need for collective action to tackle the climate emergency,” said Rolf Stangl, CEO at SIG.
Signed by 155 major multinationals, including Nestlé, Firmenich, Orkla, Stora Enso Oyj, Symrise, Tate & Lyle and Unilever, the Recover Better statement is the largest ever UN-backed CEO-led climate advocacy effort.
It calls for policies that will build resilience against future shocks by supporting efforts to hold global temperature rise to within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in line with reaching net-zero emissions well before 2050.
The Recover Better campaign is being convened by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), together with the UN Global Compact and the We Mean Business coalition.
“Governments have a critical role to play by aligning policies and recovery plans with the latest climate science, but they cannot drive a systemic socio-economic transformation alone,” said Lila Karbassi, chief of programmes at the UN Global Compact, and Science Based Targets Initiative board member.
“To address the interconnected crises we face, we must work together as an international community to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. As the largest ever UN-backed CEO-led climate advocacy effort, these companies are leading the way in driving ambitious science-based action and advocacy to help reduce vulnerability to future shocks and disasters.”