Why 2018 is the year for business to step up climate action

The document calls for businesses to take a leading role in the low-carbon transition, noting that current national commitments under the Paris Agreement are insufficient to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. It highlights the financial and strategic advantages of investing in clean technology and sustainable infrastructure, while urging companies to align their corporate goals with national climate strategies to drive large-scale change.

• Current national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement are insufficient, covering only about one-third of the emissions reductions required to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial levels.
• Large corporations possess a carbon footprint comparable to entire nations; for example, Mars, Incorporated has emissions on a scale similar to those of Panama.
• The direction of $90 trillion in global infrastructure spending between now and 2030 will determine whether sectors like energy, agriculture, and cities become sustainable or remain locked into high-carbon technologies.
• Significant numbers of businesses are already committing to climate action through global platforms: over 2,600 commitments have been made via the UNFCCC's NAZCA platform, and over 650 companies with a combined market capitalization exceeding $15 trillion are part of the We Mean Business coalition's Take Action campaign.
• The number of companies participating in the Science Based Targets initiative more than tripled to 338 between December 2015 and the time of writing, including firms such as Walmart, Nestlé, and Pfizer.

APA

Reid, S. A. S. G. F. (2018). Why 2018 is the year for business to step up climate action. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/why-2018-is-the-year-for-business-to-step-up-on-climate-action/

Chicago

Reid, Sir Andrew Steer, Grant F. Why 2018 is the year for business to step up climate action. World Economic Forum, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/why-2018-is-the-year-for-business-to-step-up-on-climate-action/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Reid |first1=Sir Andrew Steer, Grant F. |title=Why 2018 is the year for business to step up climate action |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=22 January 2018 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/why-2018-is-the-year-for-business-to-step-up-on-climate-action/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{reid2018why, author = {Reid, Sir Andrew Steer, Grant F.}, title = {{Why 2018 is the year for business to step up climate action}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = jan, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/why-2018-is-the-year-for-business-to-step-up-on-climate-action/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }