A race against time and against ourselves. Against the dangerous idea that we can’t do this, that there is no way.
Unlike most races, it won’t have one winner. In this race we all win, or we all lose. Winning it requires a radical, unprecedented level of collaboration, from all corners of our world. From our cities, businesses, regions and investors. From people everywhere.
Together we’re racing for a better world. A zero carbon and resilient world. A healthier, safer, fairer world. A world of wellbeing, abundance and joy, where the air is fresher, our jobs are well-paid and dignified, and our future is clear.
To get there we need to run fast, and get faster. We need more and more people to join the race, and right now. This is not about 2050, it’s about today.
Together, we can do this. And we’re already on our way.
Countries must acknowledge these signals and translate national commitments into credible policies, while every sector must undergo an exponential transformation. But elevated ambition and greater – and more immediate – outcomes are needed.
To help catalyze this action, the UN High Level Climate Champions launched the 2030 Breakthroughs to give us even greater clarity of the path to halving emissions by 2030 across the global economy.
The strategy paper covers over 30 sectors that make up the global economy, with specific attention on oil & gas, fashion and finance, as well as new sectors: pharma, tourism, Carbon Capture Usage & Storage (CCUS) and Direct Air Capture.
Collectively, the pathways articulate what key actors must do, and by when, to deliver the systems change we need to achieve a resilient, zero carbon world in time. This creates a shared vision for all the different players in a system, helping to spur action.
We believe once 20% of key actors within each sector commit to playing their part to transform the sector consistent with the Climate Action Pathways, we have achieved “Breakthrough Ambition”. This means sufficient momentum is generated among a critical mass of key actors, enabling them to break away from the business-as-usual path and together deliver breakthrough outcomes at pace.
The pharmaceutical and medical technology sector is the latest to join a group of 15 major industries that have achieved a major breakthrough in climate action.
With 40 days to go before the pivotal COP26 climate conference in Glasgow this November, over half the sectors that make up the global economy are now committing to halve their emissions within the next decade and achieve near-term emissions reductions targets known as the 2030 Breakthroughs.
The road to a fully decarbonized electricity system is clear. We must rapidly phase out fossil fuels whilst simultaneously accelerating our expansion of renewables. The transition to clean power is the crucial foundation of the energy transition, and achievement of the Race to Zero breakthrough ambition is a key step forward in achieving our sector goal of net zero.
To help catalyse action, the UN High Level Climate Champions have updated an existing Breakthroughs paper to include additional specificity on halving emissions by 2030 across more sectors of the real economy.
Our parent’s generation put a man on the moon eight years after JFK’s commitment to do so in May 1961. In this decisive decade, when faced with the threat of a climate emergency, how can we do any less? In corporate boardrooms across the world, the challenge is increasingly being accepted: climate change poses an […]
