Statement from the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit Steering Committee

As members of the Steering Committee for the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit, we thank the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, and the Co-Chairs of the Summit – Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Michael Bloomberg, and Anand Mahindra, Chairman and Managing Director of the Mahindra Group – for their determined leadership.

The Summit is a galvanizing opportunity for global businesses, investors, states and regions, cities, civil society, and citizens to showcase and deliver bold new action on climate change. The summit will take place in September 2018 directly before world leaders gather in Poland at COP24 to take stock of progress toward meeting the long-term goal of the historic Paris Agreement. It is during this moment that governments need to signal their intent to raise the ambition of their current national climate pledges, which are currently insufficient to meet the overall objectives of the Paris treaty

In service of this objective, we will engage our diverse constituencies and stakeholders in the lead-up to the Summit to demonstrate that urgent climate action is necessary, desirable, and achievable and that we are already reducing global emissions by 2020 to meet the Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all.

We will strive to ensure that progress in the real economy and actions delivered at the Summit empower world leaders to step up and commit to enhancing their climate action by 2020, putting the world on a safer and more prosperous path, while seizing substantial economic and development benefits for all.

A better future is calling, and we need everyone to participate. The world is ready to go further to deliver on the Paris goal of limiting global temperature rises to well below 2ºC. We urge every business, city, state or region, civil society, community group, faith-based organization, school, hospital from all over the world to plan now how they can accelerate their own decarbonization plans, and articulate what actions they can bring to the Summit in September 2018.

The time to define the future is now. Let’s step up together in California and be the change we want to see.

Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group

Aron Cramer, President and CEO, BSR

Wael Hmaidan, Executive Director, CAN International

Mindy Lubber, President, Ceres

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Leader, Climate & Energy, WWF International

Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40

Elizabeth Cousens, Deputy CEO, United Nations Foundation (Steering Committee Observer)

James Grabert, Director of Sustainable Development Mechanisms, UNFCCC (Steering Committee Observer)

Andrew Higham, CEO, Mission 2020 (Steering Committee Coordinator)