Open letter to United Nations delegates at COP27

As the conference enters a crucial period and global leaders gather for the G20 in Bali, they must now deliver with action to the commitments made in Glasgow at COP26 and keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C.

The statement was initiated and developed in collaboration with The B Team and its chair, Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, The We Mean Business Coalition, as well as John Denton, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce.

“The science remains unchanged, 1.5°C is a limit, not a target. Decisions taken in the coming days at COP27 and G20 will be critical, and we need governments, starting with the world’s most advanced economies, to deliver commitments and actions in line with 1.5°C. We have it in our hands to collectively halve global emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. We cannot leave this to the next generations,” says Jesper Brodin, CEO Ingka Group and Chair of The B Team.

As a multinational business, IKEA recognises the importance of simultaneously tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis, and the need for a just transition. IKEA and Ingka Group are committed to the Paris Agreement and to contribute to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. IKEA has science-based targets and the ambition to become climate positive by 2030* by reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than the total IKEA value chain emits.

Furthermore, together with partners across sectors, IKEA can play a role in accelerating climate action even further by advocating and positively influencing the private sector and governments and involving the many people. On Tuesday 08th November Ingka Group were one of more than 50 companies to sign a new Action Declaration on Climate Policy engagement. Announced at COP27, the Action Declaration outlines how industry leaders in the movement to decarbonize the economy will support ambitious action to close the say–do gap on countries’ emission reductions by; Supporting climate action aligned with the Paris Agreement when engaging with policymakers; Working with their major industry/trade associations to advance alignment with the Paris Agreement; Monitoring and disclosing climate policy alignment for their companies and their major industry/trade associations.

The full statement being shared reads:

As business and civil society leaders, and representatives of science and communities around the world, we are committed to doing everything in our power to limit global warming to 1.5°C and avoid dangerous tipping points. Every fraction of a degree of global heating matters.  
 
We need governments, starting with the world’s most advanced economies, to uphold their commitment to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C and to move swiftly to its delivery.  
 
As climate negotiators are meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh for COP27, and global leaders gather for the G20 in Bali, the science remains unchanged: 1.5°C is a limit not a target. We must put all our efforts to stay within this limit and avoid the worsening impacts, suffering and costs that any overshoot will bring. Already at 1.2°C we are seeing the flooded villages of Pakistan, burning forests and towns of California, dried up rivers across Europe and parched fields in Somalia. Those that have contributed least to climate change are the most vulnerable to its impacts. 
 
To keep within this limit, we must all work collaboratively and relentlessly to halve global emissions by 2030. The 2022 UNFCCC NDC Synthesis Report shows that existing pledges are simply not enough: governments must strengthen their commitments and plans and implement them without delay. 
 
Our commitment to the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact is unwavering. Thousands of companies, unions, investors, cities, states and regions are committed to 1.5°C, and already taking science-based climate action: delivering clean energy solutions, developing innovative finance mechanisms, and building the resilience of vulnerable communities.  
  
National leaders must demonstrate solidarity and decide where they stand. Decisions taken in the coming days will define our ability to build an equitable and resilient global economy. They will reverberate around the world and down the generations. There can be no excuses for backsliding on the commitments made a year ago.  
 
Every part of society has an essential role to play in delivering 1.5°C. History shows us that humans have the capacity to innovate and solve immense challenges when we work together. The technologies exist and our destination is clear.  
 
We stand ready to deliver a just transition and an equitable and inclusive future for all. We want to work with governments in building an enduring legacy based on our collective efforts to secure 1.5°C. We are all in.  

About The B Team:

The B Team is a global collective of business and civil society leaders working to create new norms of corporate leadership today, for a better tomorrow. Together, these leaders are holding themselves and their peers accountable for a new way of doing business—one that measures success not only by financial performance, but also by the health of people and our planet—for the benefit of generations to come.

*IKEA is committed to the Paris Agreement and to contribute to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This includes a commitment to halve the absolute net GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from the total IKEA value chain by 2030. We will achieve this by drastically reducing GHG emissions through science-based targets and by removing carbon from the atmosphere through natural processes and storing it in land, plants and products through better forest and agriculture management within the IKEA value chain. We will contribute to further greenhouse emission reductions in society by going beyond IKEA, such as enabling customers to generate renewable energy at home. Read more about the IKEA commitment here.