Major companies support Paris Agreement

WASHINGTON – April 20, 2016 – Twelve leading companies based or with major operations in the United States voiced strong support today for the landmark global climate agreement to be signed this week and urged governments to move expeditiously to formally join it.

In a statement organized by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), the companies said they recognize rising climate risks and welcome the agreement reached in December at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris “as an expression of the strong governmental leadership needed to smoothly transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future.”

The Paris Agreement, to be signed Friday in New York by more than 150 countries, establishes “an inclusive, pragmatic and, hopefully, durable framework for progressively strengthening efforts globally to address the causes and consequences of climate change,” the statement says.

The statement was endorsed by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Calpine, HP Inc., Intel, LafargeHolcim, Microsoft, National Grid, PG&E, Rio Tinto, Schneider Electric, Shell, and Siemens.

“These companies have real skin in the game – either they’re big energy producers or users,” said C2ES President Bob Perciasepe. “They know emissions need to come down and are taking action on their own. But they also believe the low-carbon transition requires government leadership to ensure that all major economies are doing their fair share.”

The statement says the Paris Agreement will help facilitate and strengthen the role of the private sector in the low-carbon transition by providing long-term direction, promoting transparency, addressing competitiveness, and facilitating carbon pricing.

“Allowing, and ensuring the environmental integrity of, international emissions trading will help facilitate the growth and credibility of carbon markets, a critical tool for cost-effective emissions reduction,” the statement says.

Many of the companies joining the statement were among the hundreds that pledged specific climate actions in the lead-up to the Paris conference.

“We encourage governments to move expeditiously to formally join the Paris Agreement,” the statement says, “and pledge to work with countries to enact and implement the domestic measures needed to achieve their national contributions.”

The full statement is at: http://bit.ly/Biz4Climate

Additional Resources:

• Q&A: Answers to Key Questions about the Paris Agreement
• Summary of the Paris Agreement
• Business Resilience report: Major companies see climate impacts as a business risk.
• Sampling of pledges of action by non-state actors