At COP28, Influential Investors, Companies, and Policymakers To Call for Greater Global Ambition and Accelerated Action To Limit Temperature Rise and Achieve a Net Zero Economy

• Investors and companies to call on goverments to implement a clear set of policy asks including mandating climate disclosure, phasing out fossil fuels, and delivering an equitable and just transition.
• While investors and companies are already setting net zero targets, laying out transition plans, and engaging with governments, more needs to be done to reduce methane emissions and reverse nature loss and water degradation across key sectors.
• Despite historic policy wins—such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which is driving a clean energy investment boom in the U.S.—the world is not on track to meet its climate goals.

November 17, 2023 /3BL/ - With less than seven years to halve emissions by 2030, the 2023 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP28) presents a critical moment for governments and businesses to accelerate ambition and action to stabilize the climate, protect water and natural resources, and build a more equitable and inclusive economy. Following historic policy wins in the U.S., Ceres will call on global leaders to capitalize on the momentum and advance policy and regulatory solutions at all levels of government as well as increased clean energy and finance investments in emerging markets and developing countries to accelerate the just transition.

The world is facing unprecedented impacts from a warming planet. The frequency of catastrophic heatwaves, flooding and droughts continues to have an increasingly deadly and devastating impact on all parts of society—including the global economy. The latest National Climate Assessment found the U.S. has already experienced 25 climate disasters this year that each resulted in more than a billion dollars of damages, costing hundreds of lives and more than $73 billion total. These disasters impact supply chains, products, and the services on which consumers rely, and the impacts will only increase without dramatic action.

Despite recent policy wins in the U.S.—such as California’s corporate climate disclosure laws and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is already delivering hundreds of thousands of new jobs and sustainable investments across the country—there is much more that needs to be done to limit global temperature rise and achieve a net zero emissions economy by 2050. Recent sobering reports show that the world is not on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and highlight the steps needed to keep the goals in reach.

Ahead of COP28, investors and companies have identified a clear set of policy actions they will be calling for including mandatory climate disclosure rules and the phase out of fossil fuels. The Investor Agenda report, The Changing Climate Policy Landscape, outlines eight features of effective climate policy, which can accelerate the just transition. On the corporate side, a growing list of more than 130 companies with nearly $1 trillion in global annual revenue have signed a letter to governments urging them to support an agreement at COP28 that includes the phase out the use of unabated fossil fuels in line with a 1.5°C pathway and the tripling of renewable energy capacity and doubling of the rate of energy efficiency by 2030.

"COP28 presents an opportunity to raise our global ambition and action. In addition to increased decarbonization efforts in the highest-emitting sectors and ramping up clean energy investments, we need governments to put greater emphasis on advancing renewable energy and energy efficiency measures and a just transition that supports policies that protect workers and vulnerable communities.” - Amit Bando, Chief Economist and Senior Advisor for Just and Inclusive Economies, Ceres 

Ceres experts (listed below) will be on the ground at COP 28 to participate in a number of events and highlight the progress we’ve made through our global initiatives and where we need to go next. Among the initiatives include Ceres Ambition 2030 to drive emissions reductions in six high-emitting sectors; Nature Action 100 to drive corporate action on nature loss and biodiversity decline; and the Ceres Valuing Water Finance Initiative to engage companies with a high-water footprint to value and act on water as a financial risk.

• Amit Bando, Chief Economist and Senior Advisor for Just and Inclusive Economies
• Kirsten James, Senior Program Director, Water
• Meryl Richards, Program Director, Food and Forests
• Blair Bateson, Director, Company Network, Financial Services
• Laura Draucker, Director, Climate and Energy, Corporate Climate Action
• Zach Friedman, Director, Federal Policy
• Ben Tabor, Director, Investor Network, Policy

Ceres, along with the founding partners of the Investor Agenda, is co-hosting an official COP28 side event, Accelerating and Scaling Up Investor Climate Action to Achieve the Paris Agreement’s Goals, on December 5, 2023, 15:00-16:30 GST in SE Room 2 Blue Zone. Major investors will discuss the actions and policies needed to make further progress against the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Ceres will also co-host a panel discussion, Regional Approaches to Financing a Just Transition, on December 6, 2023, 10:30-11:30 GST in the International Chamber of Commerce Pavilion, Blue Zone. This panel will explore the regional aspects of a just transition and tailor financial strategies to diverse geographical needs, including the influence of local communities on banks and their portfolio companies.

Go to https://www.ceres.org/events/cop28 for a full list of events featuring Ceres staff as well as the latest updates.

About Ceres

Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.

Media Contact: sciammacco@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 ext. 172