We Mean Business supports Entrepreneurs Call to Climate Action
We Mean Business
Entrepreneurs Call To Climate Action and COP21
Read the Chinese version here.
Below joint statement is from 103 CEOs with international operations and base in India, South Africa, Germany, China, US, Japan, Canada, UK, Mexico, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Croatia, Costa Rica, Estonia, Uganda and Chile. The statement is supported by 19 international organisations.
We are the disruptors
We are some of the thousands of cleantech businesses and entrepreneurs from all corners of the world that already have the solutions ready to help our customers to better performance and lives without the need of harmful fossil fuel emissions. We are forerunners in all areas of daily life, providing solutions that address human needs for shelter, mobility, food, water, heating and materials – powered by renewable energy.
We work on developing and delivering energy services in new efficient ways and exploring new business models where this can be done faster and cleaner as part of a circular economy. Together we can provide cooling, heating, steam, cooking & water treatment for rich and poor using renewable energy, energy efficiency across traditional industries, biogas displacing fossil alternatives, performance materials inspired by nature and infrastructure and fueling for zero emissions transport. Our solutions enable super-efficient buildings so they can produce more energy than they consume, even more efficient renewable energy production, energy storage, remanufacturing, optimization of the growth of plants, removal of CO2 from the atmosphere with renewable energy & agriculture based negative emission solutions and more. We provide jobs where everyone feels proud in taking real actions for a sustainable world.
The more we grow, the faster emissions will shrink. The more we grow, the more people will have access to sustainable energy. The more we grow, the closer we will be to a full decarbonisation of the global economy.
We need You to scale up these solutions
We need committed politicians, corporations and investors that stand up and face the global challenge of climate change whilst being receptive to the economic, social and environmental opportunities of delinking our dependence on the number one driver of climate change – fossil fuels.
We need leaders who understand that we should take up the full decarbonisation challenge as soon as we can, rather than a waiting game of curbing emissions in the slowest possible way to achieve 2 or 3 degrees global warming. We are aware that millions of people and ecosystems are already suffering from climate change. Already at 1.5 degrees of global warming we are in the region of exposing people and planet to unacceptable risks. Using the precautionary principle, our joint ambition must be to leave the fossil fuel era behind as soon as we can.
Some main barriers to our growth are finance and policy influence. We note that the incumbents in the fossil fuel industry have too much policy influence and an over allocation of capital today [1]. These assets must shift to us solution providers – both for us to succeed in creating jobs – and for us to achieve a safe operating space for humanity in the face of climate change.
We need a strong directive to nations, cities, corporations and communities to redirect their investment into new, efficient and fully renewable solutions that leapfrog the traditional business-as-usual alternatives. Cities, corporations and communities must favour new and transformative products and services that deliver 100% fossil free solutions opposed to a slightly better version of an already existing polluting alternative. This will not only drastically cut CO2 emissions but also create new jobs. Let us not forget that enhanced renewable energy options have potential to provide clean energy access to millions of people in the developing world. Both the technology and business models exist – but need to be substantially scaled up to make an impact.
COP21 in Paris must deliver
– COP21 in Paris must be the turn of the tide for the global society from the fossil fuel era towards the era of efficiency and 100% renewable energy – and we should reach 100% no later than 2050. World leaders must aim at the lower range of our shared finite carbon budget of 400-1000 GtCO2 from 2011 to ensure a likely chance to stay below 2°C and make it possible to stay below 1.5°C [1].
– COP21 must be the turn of the tide for the financial sector to chase innovative solutions rather than having trillions of stranded assets in the fossil fuel reserves that should never be burnt. COP21 must ensure clear scaling up of climate finance from developed countries towards the promised $100 billion per year by 2020. This year of climate action must be the turn of the tide when countries start phasing out public finance towards fossil fuels rather than increasing them from already very high levels [2].
– COP21 must be the turn of the tide for Governments to develop science based targets and policy instruments that support innovative solution providers that have everything to gain from change. Policies that do not subsidise fossil fuels and its emissions but rather establish a price on carbon emissions.
– COP21 must be the turn of the tide when all multinational corporates not only set climate targets in line with what science say is the minimum needed, but also actively share the risk in exploring better ways of doing business in an efficient and fully renewable energy based future, reaping the rewards in lower costs and increased revenue of getting there first.
As world leaders you have the power to change people’s feeling of helplessness into proud actors of change. We should not hesitate to put these solutions into place. A change into best-in-class, modern energy solutions need to happen today – at full speed. Within the next years, we have a window of opportunity to turn the climate boat around into safer waters. The solutions are already here, ready to be scaled. Now – help us and the thousands of groundbreaking cleantech entrepreneurs to put them to work.
Signed By:
Piyush Jaju, CEO, ONergy
Patrik Lindergren, CEO, ChargeStorm
Devin De Vries, Founder and Director, WhereIsMyTransport
Luke Lu, CEO, Beijing ZBEST Technology Co.
Mårten Hellberg, CEO, OrganoClick
Paul Needham, CEO, Simpa Networks
Karl Bohman, CEO, ClimateWell
Zhongze Li, Chairman, Wuhan San Fran Electronics Co
Petra Wadström, CEO, Solvatten
Mainak Chakraborty, CEO, GPS Renewables
David Andersson, CEO, ECOERA AB
Staffan Hillberg, CEO, Heliospectra
Neil du Preez, CEO, Mellowcabs
Per Wickman, CEO, Solelia
Joakim Byström, CEO, Absolicon
Budong Hao, CEO, Dong He Advanced Material Technology Ltd
Anders Lindgren, CEO, Optistring
David Drew, CEO, Agriprotein
Henrik Karlsson, CEO, Biorecro
Shengyue Hou, Chairman, Zhejiang Heda Solar Technology Co
Klas Berglöf, CEO, ClimaCheck Sweden
Harit Soni, Founder, Ecolibrium Energy
Per Löfberg, Executive Director, Emerging Cooking Solutions
Svante Bengtsson, CEO, ReHact
Yun Luo, CEO, Metaspace (Beijing) Air Dome Corp
Johan Siverklev, Founder, Air to Air Sweden
Ming Gu, CEO, Nanjing Xingfei Cooling Apparatus Co., Ltd.
Bhoo Thirumalai, CEO, Aspiration Energy
Abhishek Bhatewara, Director, Clique Solar
Pär Bergsten, CEO, H&D Wireless AB
Daniel Hagström, CEO & Founder, ReformTech
Umesh Bhutoria, CEO, E-Cube Energy
Arun Shenoy, Executive Director – Business Operations, GIBSS (Green India Building Systems and Services)
Anders Jansson, CEO & Co-Founder, Minesto
Laurent Sohier, CEO, Heliopur
Tobias Forngren, CEO, Freelway
Greg Atkinson, Founder & CTO, Eco Marine Power
Tomas Svärd, CEO, AQVIS Miljöspont
Patrik Möller, CEO & Co-founder, CorPower Ocean AB’
Paul Egginton, CEO, TEGnology ApS
Bo Eskerod Madsen, CEO, ReMoni
Kari Vuorinen, CEO, Plantui
Fredrika Gullfot, Founder & CEO, Simris Alg AB
Arttur Kulvik, Chairman of the Board, Solnet Green Energy Oy
Arne R. Gravdahl, Founder & CTO, WindSim AS
Jonas Karles, Co-Founder, Epishine
Svend Brandstrup Hansen, CEO, Hveiti
Vidar Holmoey, CEO, Norsetek AS
Niclas Luthman, Founder/ CEO, Pike Solution AB
Seppo Huurinainen, CEO, MHG Systems Oy
Lars Brøndum Petersen, CEO & Co-Founder, RETAP APS
Jonne Hellgren, CEO, RePack
Amit Paul, Managing Director, Paxymer AB
Julien Uhlig, CEO, Entrade Energiesysteme
Erik Godtman Kling & Viktor Börjesson, Co-Founders COO/CEO & Co-Founders, ReVibe Energy
Henning Pilgaard, CEO, Crestwing
Markku Makkonen, CEO and Co-Founder, Fourdeg
Per Kaijser, Founder, Scandinavian Centriair AB
Anna-Maria Béregi Amnéus, Founder & CEO, Energeotek
Christofer Friberg, Co-Founder / Executive Partner, Energeotek International
Sanjay Banka, CEO, Banka BioLoo
Mårten Björk, CMO and shareholder Vice President, Elpanneteknik Sweden AB
Mats Rydsund, Founder, PureAirZone
Mark Jansson Kragh, CEO, Founder & Mainowner, Arsizio AB
Mikael Lennström, CEO & Founder, SenseNode AB
Tiger Aster, Founder, Toro Cooling Systems – India
Theo Bouwman, CEO, founder, inventor, Woodyhousing
Georg Svensson, CEO, Mimer Energy
Vishal Pandya, Co-Founder & Director, REConnect Energy
Rustam Sengupta, CEO & Founder, Boond Engineering & Development (P) Ltd.
Mika Laine, Chairman, Envor Group
Abhilash Thirupathy, Founder, AK Surya PowerMagic Pvt. Ltd.
Deb A Mukherjee, Director, Enfragy
Tawanda Mutukwa, Co-Founder, Hurukuro Consultancy Pvt Ltd
Emil Drinovac, CEO, DYNAMICA
Rune Franzén, Founder & CFO, HydroInfra Technologies HITI publ AB
Mattias Karls, CEO, Disruptive Materials AB
Åsmund Møll Frengstad, CEO, Meshcrafts AS
Jakob Assmann, Founder, Polarstern GmbH
Andreas Lehner, Founder & COO, TRINE
Jonas Almquist, CEO, Sustainable Energy Nordic AB
Narcisse Mbunzama, Founder and CEO, Avonax Group
Stefano Onofri, CEO, XEOLO4ALL
Alejandro Brenes, CEO, Enertiva
Morten Veis Donnerup, CEO and CO-founder, SUNTHERM APS
Federico Garcea, CEO, Treedom
Alar Võrk, CEO and Co-founder, Cityntel
Ole Morten Olesen, CEO, Desert Control
Mairi Wickett, CEO, WITT Limited
Thomas Gottschalk, CEO and Founder, Mobisol GmbH
Wilhelm Löwenhielm, CEO, Eneo Solutions
Curtis VanWalleghem, CEO, Hydrostor
Fredrik Östlin, Founder/CEO, off2off
Alex Shoer, CEO, Seeder Clean Energy
Billy Parish, CEO, Mosaic
Gerardo Domínguez, Co- Owner, GRAVALOCK PERMEABLE PAVER
Danny Kennedy, CEO, CalCEF
Pasi Pennanen, Founder & CEO, Toroidion
Anders L. Østergård, CEO, co-founder, Fluidan
Arine van Walré de Bordes, CEO, Purasol
Jim Woods, CEO, The Crowd
Peik Stenlund, Co-Founder, Pamoja Cleantech AB
Andres Luongo, CEO and Co-Founder, allGreenup
Join the call for climate action! Sign up here
WWF, Sustainia, Cleantech Group, World Future Council, Global 100% RE, Cleantech Scandinavia, Cleantech Region, Renewables 100 Policy Institute, CIIE, HANSA Trade, EEF, Nordic Cleantech Innovation Link, Rockstart, European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, We Mean Business, The Climate Group, Sustainable Development Sweden, ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and STING support this Entrepreneurs Call to Climate Action and COP21. If your organisation is not a cleantech company but would also like to support the call, please contact us at [email protected].
This post was originally published on WWF Climate Solver
Footnotes:
– [1] Fossil fuel reserves are 4-7 times higher than the maximum carbon budget of 1000 GtCO2 with a likely chance to avoid global warming of 2°C according to IPCC Synthesis Report, Longer Report Table 2.2 http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ . In spite of this incumbents in the fossil fuel industry spent $674 billion in 2012 of global financial markets capital to find and develop new reserves that are stranded assets in such a scenario where we stay below 2 degrees global warming http://www.carbontracker.org/report/wasted-capital-and-stranded-assets/. Thus there is an over allocation of capital today towards the extractive fossil fuel industry. Whilst access to finance is the largest obstacle to many pure-play energy efficiency and renewable energy entrepreneurs around the world.
– [2] Energy subsidies are projected at US$5.3 trillion in 2015, or 6.5% of global GDP, according to a recent IMF (International Monetary Fund) studyhttp://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2015/NEW070215A.htm, over $1,000 per G20 citizen http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/04/g20-countries-pay-over-1000-per-citizen-in-fossil-fuel-subsidies-say-imf