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Alain Bejjani, CEO Majid Al Futtaim, among 79 signatories of open letter to world leaders
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Signatories ask governments to accelerate the transition to net-zero before COP26
Alain Bejjani, the chief executive officer of Majid Al Futtaim holding company, was one of 79 CEOs who have said they stand ready to work with public sector leaders around the world to reduce emissions.
The members of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders signed an ‘Open Letter’ championing public-private cooperation ahead of the G7 summit, scheduled 11-13 June, to boost net-zero commitments, policies and actions.
The letter reads: “With the ongoing challenge of the COVID pandemic, it is easy to forget that climate change is an immediate and growing threat to people, ecosystems, and economies – with our current trajectory leading us to potentially irreversible outcomes.”
“To avoid the worst impacts of climate change we need to limit warming to 1.5°C, which will require nearly halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050. This drastic departure from today’s emissions growth trajectory requires bold action across private and public sectors five months before COP26 in November,” the letter said.
The CEOs called upon world leaders, including those meeting at the G7 Summit this week, to deliver on “our shared” climate ambitions and enable a net-zero world – and additionally to work together with the private sector for bolder actions on shared ambitions within a clearer and more ambitious policy framework.
The signatories are looking for governments to accelerate the transition to net-zero before COP26 to accelerate even more action from the private sector, said a statement issued by the World Economic Forum on Thursday.
“It is an important and significant move for this many CEOs to put their names forward for deeper collective collaboration,” said Dominic Waughray, managing director of the World Economic Forum.
“It sends a clear signal to policy-makers that many global business leaders are ready to make the transition to a net-zero future. As we move towards COP26, public-private collaboration will be key to unlocking investment, setting more ambitious targets to reduce emissions, and turning this ambition into action,” he said. To decarbonize at the speed and scale required to achieve net-zero by 2050 at the latest, the CEOs said, “we urgently need transformative policy change”.
