“42 leading U.S. companies jointly urged President-elect Joe Biden and the new Congress to work together to enact ambitious, durable, and bipartisan climate solutions.
Calling climate action a “business imperative,” the companies pointed to the grave risks presented by climate change, and to the economic benefits of tackling it—from new jobs and growth to strengthened U.S. competitiveness.”
Look who’s on the list of signatories — big energy companies ... big auto manufacturers ... big technology, chemistry, nutrition, and health firms ... big banking and finance sector players ... big building science designers and manufacturers ... the biggest retailers.... There are no social justice warriors on this document. There’s nothing soft or sentimental here — this is, as they say, a business imperative.
IN SUPPORT OF AMBITIOUS, DURABLE, BIPARTISAN CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
As major companies across diverse sectors of the U.S. economy, we are committed to meeting the profound challenge of climate change. We support the United States’ return to the Paris Agreement, and we urge President-elect Biden and the new Congress to work together to enact ambitious, durable, bipartisan climate solutions.
Our communities and our economy are enduring not only a devastating pandemic but also the rising costs of climate change. Record wildfires, flooding, hurricanes and other extreme weather are upending lives and livelihoods. And science makes clear that future generations will face far greater environmental, economic and health impacts unless we act now.
In many cases, the steps we must take to reduce these grave risks have the added benefit of generating substantial economic activity. Leveraging American investment and innovation toward the technologies of tomorrow will create jobs, drive growth, and strengthen U.S. competitiveness. Near-term climate actions can contribute significantly to our economic recovery.
Recognizing these risks and opportunities, seeing the broad public support for clean energy and climate protection, and hearing the concerns of our investors, customers, communities, and employees, our companies view climate action as a business imperative. We are each taking major steps to reduce our climate impact. We have publicly declared ambitious goals and are investing in clean technologies and other climate solutions.
But successfully meeting this global challenge requires strong, sustained leadership from Washington. To achieve a net-zero economy, the United States must establish durable national policies that harness market forces, mobilize investment and innovation, and provide the certainty needed to plan for the long term. It is also vital that our climate policies meet the needs of marginalized communities, low-income households, and workers and communities disadvantaged by the energy transition.
The United States has made important strides – emissions are down, and clean energy is up. With the election of a new President and Congress, we now have a critical opportunity to significantly strengthen these efforts. We stand ready to work with stakeholders on all sides and with our elected leaders to seize this moment and achieve ambitious, durable climate solutions.
Amazon • Bank of America • BASF Corporation • BHP • bp • Cargill • Carrier Corporation • The Chemours Company • Citi • Danone North America • Dominion Energy • Dow Inc. • DSM • DTE Energy • DuPont • Edison International • Entergy Corporation • Exelon Corporation • Ford Motor Company • General Motors • Goldman Sachs • Google • HP Inc. • IBM • Intel Corporation • Johnson Controls • JPMorgan Chase • LafargeHolcim • Microsoft Corporation • Morgan Stanley • National Grid • Nestlé • NRG Energy, Inc. • Ørsted Offshore, North America • PG&E Corporation • PSEG • Schneider Electric • Shell • Total • Trane Technologies PLC • Unilever United States • Walmart
This statement was organized by C2ES as part of our Climate Innovation 2050 initiative. We thank the Environmental Defense Fund and The Nature Conservancy for their assistance.
