Setting a Long-Term Goal is critical to protect people and the planet<\/strong><\/p>\nThere are many crucial issues at stake at COP21, but a Long-Term Goal is essential because it will facilitate the mobilisation of economic and human resources and will inspire the private sector to invest and innovate to achieve de-carbonisation of the global economy at the speed and scale required.<\/p>\n
We are seeking a global commitment to achieve a net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions economy by 2050. We know this is ambitious, but it is ambition that will generate the global momentum and focus that is critical to success.<\/p>\n
This commitment will require shifting the global energy system to clean energy and innovation across all sectors of the economy. It will unleash new technological solutions, mobilise large-scale investment, and shape consumer behavior, all of which will create new jobs and unprecedented economic opportunities.<\/p>\n
In our view, the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by all governments in September cannot be achieved in the absence of an ambitious Long-Term Goal. The failure to limit the global average temperature increase to 2\u00b0C will dramatically undermine the right to development particularly of our least developed countries where the impacts of climate change are already destroying livelihoods.<\/p>\n
By targeting a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, we should be able to protect the planet\u2019s biodiversity and ecosystems upon which all life depends, and achieve a global economic transition that results in a more equitable future by lifting millions of people out of poverty.<\/p>\n
As many of you prepare for the upcoming G20 and COP21 gatherings, now is the time to voice your support for a Long-Term Goal in the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n
We are setting Long-Term Goals for our own organisations<\/strong><\/p>\nConsistent with this request for action, we are already setting Long-Term Goals and implementing scalable solutions for our own companies with the aim of significantly reducing our impacts.<\/p>\n
Many of the signatories to this letter have now committed to a \u201cNet-Zero by 2050\u201d target for the companies we lead. These include businesses across different regions and industries, working together to achieve this goal \u2013 the Chinese construction company Broad Group; the African telecommunications company Econet; the French apparel and accessories group Kering; the Brazilian cosmetics company Natura; the US electricity company NRG Energy; the Kenyan mobile network operator Safaricom; the global enterprise cloud computing company Salesforce; the internationally renowned jeweler Tiffany & Co.; the global consumer goods company Unilever; and the international investment group Virgin Group.<\/p>\n
We hope that our actions and commitments, alongside those of thousands of companies around the world who are already investing in the transition, will support you in securing a Long-Term Goal in Paris next month.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s work together to make it happen<\/strong><\/p>\nWe the undersigned state our support for a specific and ambitious Long-Term Goal, knowing it is arguably the principal lens through which Paris will be judged. Without it, COP21 will fail to send a clear signal to business leaders to take real and urgent action.<\/p>\n
We believe that only Heads of State, acting together, can truly set a Long-Term Goal for the global economy. This is your time to lead in the negotiations by clarifying your vision. As a diverse group of business and civil society leaders, we stand by you in driving forward an ambitious agenda. We understand it is also our responsibility and our time to demonstrate leadership by taking bold actions in all our spheres of influence.<\/p>\n
We look forward to supporting your leadership in Paris and beyond.<\/p>\n
Yours sincerely,<\/em><\/p>\nSir Richard Branson \u2013 Co-Chair The B Team, Founder, Virgin Group<\/em>
\nJochen Zeitz \u2013 Co-Chair The B Team, Director, Kering and Harley-Davidson<\/em>
\nPeter Bakker \u2013 President, WBCSD<\/em>
\nJosh Bayliss \u2013 CEO, Virgin Group<\/em>
\nMarc Benioff \u2013 Founder, Chairman and CEO, Salesforce<\/em>
\nSharan Burrow \u2013 General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation<\/em>
\nBob Collymore \u2013 CEO, Safaricom<\/em>
\nDavid Crane \u2013 CEO, NRG Energy<\/em>
\nFrederic Cumenal \u2013 CEO, Tiffany & Co.<\/em>
\nArianna Huffington \u2013 Chair, President & Editor in Chief, Huffington Post<\/em>
\nDr. Mo Ibrahim \u2013 Founder of Celtel, Mo Ibrahim Foundation<\/em>
\nGuilherme Leal \u2013 Co-Founder, Natura<\/em>
\nRoberto Lima \u2013 CEO, Natura<\/em>
\nStrive Masiyiwa \u2013 Founder & Chairman, Econet<\/em>
\nBlake Mycoskie \u2013 Founder, TOMS<\/em>
\nDr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala \u2013 Former Coordinating Minister of the Economy & Minister of Finance, Nigeria<\/em>
\nFran\u00e7ois-Henri Pinault \u2013 CEO and Chairman of The Board of Directors, Kering<\/em>
\nPaul Polman \u2013 CEO, Unilever<\/em>
\nMary Robinson \u2013 President, Mary Robinson Foundation Climate Justice<\/em>
\nRatan Tata \u2013 Chairman Emeritus, Tata Group<\/em>
\nZhang Yue \u2013 Chairman and Founder, The BROAD Group<\/em>
\nProfessor Muhammad Yunus \u2013 Chairman, Yunus Centre<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Today, in an open letter to Heads of State, 22 business and civil society leaders from around the globe urged world leaders to play their part, and ensure a clear and ambitious long-term goal is part of the COP21 agreement. With the meeting of the G20 this week and COP21 only a few weeks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genesisarg.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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A long-term goal is essential because it will facilitate the mobilisation of economic and human resources and will inspire the private sector to invest and innovate to achieve de-carbonisation of the global economy at the speed and scale required.<\/p>\n