A Long-Term Goal at COP21 is Critical: Open Letter to World Leaders

A group of 22 global business and civil society leaders is calling for a net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions goal by 2050 to be established at COP21. They argue that such a goal is necessary to mobilize private sector investment, innovate for global decarbonization, and protect the Sustainable Development Goals. To demonstrate feasibility, several signatory companies, including Unilever, Salesforce, and Virgin Group, have already committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 within their own operations.

• The signatories advocate for a global commitment to reach a net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions economy by 2050, arguing that a later target of 2100 would only offer a 66% chance of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.
• A long-term goal is viewed as a critical catalyst for the private sector, as it would encourage the mobilization of human and economic resources and drive the investment and innovation needed for global decarbonization.
• The authors assert that the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be met without an ambitious long-term climate goal, noting that failing to limit temperature increases to 2°C would severely impact the right to development in least developed countries.
• Several companies across various industries and regions have already committed to aspiring for net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050, including Broad Group (China), Econet (Africa), Kering (France), Natura (Brazil), NRG Energy (US), Safaricom (Kenya), Salesforce, Tiffany & Co., Unilever, and Virgin Group.

APA

Branson, R., Zeitz, J., Bakker, P., Bayliss, J., Benioff, M., Burrow, S., Collymore, B., Crane, D., Cumenal, F., Huffington, A., Ibrahim, M., Leal, G., Lima, R., Masiyiwa, S., Mycoskie, B., Okonjo-Iweala, N., Pinault, F.-H., Polman, P., Robinson, M., ... Yunus, M. (2015). A Long-Term Goal at COP21 is Critical: Open Letter to World Leaders. We Mean Business Coalition. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/a-long-term-goal-at-cop21-is-critical-open-letter-to-world-leaders/

Chicago

Branson, Richard, Jochen Zeitz, Peter Bakker, Josh Bayliss, Marc Benioff, Sharan Burrow, Bob Collymore, et al. A Long-Term Goal at COP21 is Critical: Open Letter to World Leaders. We Mean Business Coalition, 2015. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/a-long-term-goal-at-cop21-is-critical-open-letter-to-world-leaders/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Branson |first1=Richard |last2=Zeitz |first2=Jochen |last3=Bakker |first3=Peter |last4=Bayliss |first4=Josh |last5=Benioff |first5=Marc |last6=Burrow |first6=Sharan |last7=Collymore |first7=Bob |last8=Crane |first8=David |last9=Cumenal |first9=Frederic |display-authors=etal |title=A Long-Term Goal at COP21 is Critical: Open Letter to World Leaders |publisher=We Mean Business Coalition |date=12 November 2015 |url=https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/a-long-term-goal-at-cop21-is-critical-open-letter-to-world-leaders/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{branson2015longterm, author = {Branson, Richard and Zeitz, Jochen and Bakker, Peter and Bayliss, Josh and Benioff, Marc and Burrow, Sharan and Collymore, Bob and Crane, David and Cumenal, Frederic and Huffington, Arianna and Ibrahim, Mo and Leal, Guilherme and Lima, Roberto and Masiyiwa, Strive and Mycoskie, Blake and Okonjo-Iweala, Ngozi and Pinault, Fran-Henri and Polman, Paul and Robinson, Mary and Tata, Ratan and Yue, Zhang and Yunus, Muhammad}, title = {{A Long-Term Goal at COP21 is Critical: Open Letter to World Leaders}}, publisher = {We Mean Business Coalition}, year = {2015}, month = nov, url = {https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/a-long-term-goal-at-cop21-is-critical-open-letter-to-world-leaders/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }