Even Some Fossil Fuel Companies Support An International Climate Agreement

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/10/15/3712719/fossil-fuel-companies-climate-statement/

by Natasha Geiling Oct 15, 2015

In a joint statement released Wednesday by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 14 major Fortune 500 companies voiced their support for a strong global agreement on climate change.

The 14-company coalition represents a broad set of business interests, from technology giants like Intel and HP to the electronics manufacturer Siemens Corporation. But the letter also includes supporters that might not seem like the most natural allies to a global climate agreement, including coal mining companies like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, oil and gas companies like BP and Shell, and industrial manufacturers like Alcoa and LafargeHolcim. Together, the companies have a combined revenues of $1.1 trillion and employ more than 1.5 million people, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

“These are companies with real skin in the game – either they’re large emitters or their products are,” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions President Bob Perciasepe said in a statement. “They know emissions need to come down and are taking steps on their own. But they believe the low-carbon transition requires stronger leadership from governments, too.”

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The companies in support of the statement join a growing wave of corporations that have called for climate action in advance of the Paris talks. In early October, leaders from ten of the world’s biggest food companies published a letter to Congress, urging leaders to “meaningfully address the reality of climate change.” Earlier this summer, seven oil companies submitted climate pledges to the United Nations. And, earlier this spring, the heads of BP, Shell, BG Group, Statoil, Eni, and Total — the world’s top oil producers — wrote a letter to U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres voicing their support for an international climate agreement.

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