131 companies ranging from large corporations to small and mid-sized companies wrote a letter urging political leaders to agree on a timeline to phase out fossil fuels at COP28.
The companies include Nestle, Unilever, Volvo Cars, Bayer, and Heineken and have almost $1 trillion in global annual revenues in total. The letter, published on Oct. 23, said that attendees at the U.N. climate summit must commit to 100% decarbonized power systems by 2035 to achieve richer economies and financially support developing nations to phase out fossil fuels by 2040 at the latest.
“Our businesses are feeling the impacts and cost of increasing extreme weather events resulting from climate change,” the companies said. The letter was coordinated by the non-profit We Mean Business Coalition, which advocates for a net-zero transition.
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“To decarbonize the global energy system, we need to ramp up clean energy as fast as we phase out the use and production of fossil fuels,” the letter read.
COP28 will take place in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, 2023. The climate change conference will happen in the context of growing concern, as an increasing number of scientists warn that the world is not on track to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which committed countries to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius (34.7°F) from pre-industrial levels.
Last year’s U.N. climate summit did not reach progress on phasing out fossil fuels and the topic is expected to be among the most heatedly discussed ones at COP28.
The demands from Europe and other regions to halt the burning of CO2-emitting fuels will collide with the positions of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers and consumers.
Read more: COP27: Poor Countries Demand Funding From Wealthy Nations
