Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders open COP27 conference with insistence on greater public-private partnerships

In advance of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) this week, French multinational Schneider Electric and other members of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders issued a letter-based plea to expand public-private collaboration to address the climate crisis.

In all, 124 companies compose that alliance, which is ostensibly a corporate effort to promote science-based emissions-reduction targets. In Schneider’s case, the plea was backed up by a bit of action, adding its signature to the Action Declaration on Climate Policy Engagement and pledging the company to new initiatives meant to close gaps in emissions reductions. As part of this, Schneider will support climate action in line with the Paris Agreement, work to advance it among industry and trade associations, and both monitor and disclose climate policy alignment for companies and their major industry/trade associations.

As to the letter-based lead-up to these pledges, CEO and chairman Jean-Pascal Tricoire and his fellow CEOs called for new, science-based targets aligned with the Paris Agreement to paint a clear roadmap for various sectors to follow, collaboration between and within sectors to private transparency, advocacy and action, and the development of central, international reporting standards.

“We recognize the positive progress to date,” the company leaders wrote. “Emissions under current policies are projected to reach 58 GtCO2e in 2030, 2 GtCO2e lower than what it was in 2019, but still 25 GtCO2e higher than what is essential to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This gap is equivalent to the annual emissions of 5.4 billion cars. Unfortunately, assuming full implementation of unconditional NDCs still results in a 23 GtCO2e gap (2019 and 2022 UNEP Emissions Gap Report). Governments must raise their ambitions and enact policy changes to close this gap, otherwise, we face a significant threat to the existence of human life and nature.”

Earlier this year, Schneider Electric made waves as the first company with net-zero commitments to be validated by the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Corporate Net-Zero Standard.

COP has been an annual occurrence since 1992 when the UN released its first climate agreement. Governments worldwide use it as a forum to discuss and agree to policies meant to limit global temperature rises and adapt to ongoing climate change.