|
 Google, Apple, Goldman Sachs and 10 other well-known companies
joined the White House in launching the American Business Act on
Climate Pledge, a campaign that the White House said would inject
$140 billion in low-carbon investments into the global economy.
Massive private sector commitments are seen by participants as
essential to getting a global agreement on climate change in Paris
in December. Emerging nations have demanded that any agreement
include tens of billions of dollars in financing from developed
nations to help their economies adapt to a low-carbon future.
Although not all the corporate pledges represented new commitments,
Monday's announcement showed the administration's ability to get
private sector buy-in for international climate change financing.
Mindy Lubber, president of environmental investor group Ceres,
applauded the announcements but said the White House cannot rely
solely on these pledges.
"Voluntary commitments alone will not get us the meaningful
reductions we need," she said. "Strong carbon-reducing policies are
hugely important."
None of the companies involved in Monday's announcement were from
the fossil fuel sector of the economy, though the White House said
there could be a second round of pledges in the fall ahead of the
Paris conference.
Other companies included General Motors, Bank of America, Microsoft
and Coca Cola, many of which also announced measures to reduce their
own greenhouse gas emissions and deploy more clean energy.
The White House said the companies' promises would lead to at least
1,600 megawatts of new renewable energy being brought on line.
Water-use intensity would be reduced by 15 percent and the companies
would target zero net deforestation in their supply chains.
Google, which claims to be the biggest corporate purchaser of
renewable power globally, pledged to triple those purchases over the
next decade.
In a blog post on Google's website, CEO Eric Schmidt said while the
private sector can play a leadership role on climate change, it
needs political certainty to encourage companies to scale up their
investments.
[to top of second column] |
"We need the world’s political leaders to confirm that investments
in clean energy are sound, and that the laws and policies meant to
enable such investment will be designed for the long term," Schmidt
wrote.
Among other elements of the plan, Apple, one of the 13 companies,
pledged to bring nearly 300 MW of renewable energy online in five
states and the Sichuan province in China. Berkshire Hathaway said it
will retire 75 percent of its coal-fueled generating capacity in
Nevada by 2019.
Soft-drink manufacturers Coca Cola and Pepsi Co. vowed to reduce the
carbon footprint of their businesses: Pepsi pledging to expand its
sustainable farming initiative for its supply chain, and Coca Cola
saying it would reduce the carbon footprint of the "drink in your
hand" by 25 percent by 2020.
Obama needs voluntary private sector participation because the
Republican-controlled Congress, which has power over public
financing, appears reluctant to authorize extensive spending on
renewable energy investments.
Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to host an event at the
State Department on October 20-21 to "highlight American leadership
in climate investment and innovative solutions to our toughest
climate finance challenges."
(Reporting By Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Bruce Wallace)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
