More than 130 companies, including Volvo Cars, IKEA, Unilever, Nestlé and AstraZeneca, have signed a letter calling on governments to adopt a global plan to phase out fossil fuels that do not capture carbon at upcoming international climate talks.
The letter says: "Our businesses are feeling the impacts and costs of climate change leading to an increase in extreme weather events. We have an important role to play in sending a clear signal about our future energy use, which is rapidly becoming cleaner through renewables. The letter was coordinated by the Our Meaningful Business Alliance, which advocates for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions."
The signatories represent nearly $1 trillion in annual global revenue and come from industries as diverse as beer (Heineken), pharmaceuticals (Bayer) and telecommunications (Vodafone Group). Among them are several well-known technology companies: eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. But other tech giants such as Apple, Google and Amazon, which have criticized their own climate goals, were not included in the list of signatories.
This illustrates how difficult it will be to reach consensus on a global agreement to abandon fossil fuels. Businesses and governments are increasingly showing off their efforts to combat climate change. But many companies and governments have not pledged not to use fossil fuels that contribute to global warming - especially those that stand to lose business as a result of the deal.
The signatories said they were "taking action to work towards phasing out the use of fossil fuels". Even so, they wrote, they "cannot safely and efficiently make this transition alone." Therefore, they asked heads of state to formulate policies to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.
Heads of state will gather in Dubai to participate in the United Nations Climate Conference starting on November 30. A hot topic at the summit is whether countries can agree on a plan to ditch fossil fuels. In 2015, nearly 200 countries adopted the Paris Climate Agreement, committing to limiting global warming to about 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The U.N. climate report believes that to achieve this goal, greenhouse gas emissions must fall to net zero by mid-century, but the Paris agreement does not explicitly mention fossil fuels.
By 2023, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said it is time to "phase out existing oil and gas production globally and achieve global net-zero emissions by 2050."
The agreement has been hotly debated because it could leave loopholes for the continuation of fossil fuel production. For example, the letter signed by the company today asks governments to phase out "unabated" fossil fuel use - a provision that many environmental advocates scorn. Including the word in the deal means power plants, factories and other industrial facilities can continue to rely on coal, oil or natural gas as long as those fuels are paired with controversial new technologies for capturing carbon dioxide, which have yet to be proven effective at scale.
The letter also requires rich countries to accelerate the promotion of clean energy in the power sector and achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035. The letter calls on wealthy countries to provide financial support to less wealthy countries to help them transition to clean energy. The letter also said governments should establish a carbon pollution charge and "reform and repurpose" fossil fuel subsidies to support energy efficiency and renewable energy.
"We know that phasing out fossil fuels is the only way forward if we are to limit global warming and save humanity from climate catastrophe," Anders Kärrberg, Volvo's head of global sustainability, said in a statement accompanying the letter today.