Press Release
December 2, 2020
Contact: Alec Gerlach, GerlachA@c2es.org, 703-516-0621
Top U.S. Companies Urge Biden and Congress
To Work Together on Climate Solutions
WASHINGTON—42 leading U.S. companies today jointly urged President-elect Joe Biden and the new Congress to work together to enact ambitious, durable, and bipartisan climate policies.* The companies pointed to the grave risks presented by climate change, but also the economic benefits of tackling it—creating jobs, driving growth, and strengthening U.S. competitiveness.
The statement, organized by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), was joined by major companies across the U.S. economy, including top names in the power, automotive, tech, finance, manufacturing, chemicals, oil and gas, cement, mining, food, and retail sectors. It was signed by Amazon; Bank of America; BASF Corporation; BHP; bp; Cargill; Carrier Corporation; The Chemours Company; Citi; Danone North America; Dominion Energy; Dow Inc.; DSM; DTE Energy; DuPont; Edison International; Entergy Corporation; Exelon Corporation; Ford Motor Company; General Motors; Goldman Sachs; Google; HP Inc.; IBM; Intel Corporation; Johnson Controls; JPMorgan Chase; LafargeHolcim; Microsoft Corporation; Morgan Stanley; National Grid; Nestlé; NRG Energy, Inc.; Ørsted Offshore, North America; PG&E Corporation; PSEG; Schneider Electric; Shell; Total; Trane Technologies PLC; Unilever United States; and Walmart.
“Despite federal rollbacks, and even through the pandemic, companies have been stepping up their climate commitments and action,” said C2ES President Bob Perciasepe. “But creating a net-zero economy also requires strong, sustained leadership from Washington. That’s what these companies are calling for. They see this as a critical moment and they’re pledging to work with the new Administration and Congress to enact ambitious climate policy.”
Declaring climate action a “business imperative,” the statement calls for “durable national policies that harness market forces, mobilize investment and innovation, and provide the certainty needed to plan for the long term.” It says these policies must also “meet the needs of marginalized communities, low-income households, and workers and communities disadvantaged by the energy transition.” The statement also supports the United States’ return to the Paris Agreement.
Collectively, the 42 companies joining the statement have nearly 5 million employees and generate $3 trillion in annual revenues.
C2ES organized the statement as part of its Climate Innovation 2050 initiative, which works with companies to examine U.S. decarbonization challenges and solutions. The initiative earlier produced Getting to Zero: A U.S. Climate Agenda, outlining policies to achieve U.S. carbon neutrality, and Restoring the Economy with Climate Solutions: Recommendations to Congress.
“The clear message from these companies is that we need climate policies that are both ambitious and durable,” said C2ES Executive Vice President Elliot Diringer. “U.S. climate policy stands the best chance of being durable if it has bipartisan support. So this statement is speaking to both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue and to both sides of the aisle.”
Read the full business statement
As major companies across diverse sectors of the U.S. economy, we are committed to meeting the profound challenge of climate change. We support the United States’ return to the Paris Agreement, and we urge President-elect Biden and the new Congress to work together to enact ambitious, durable, bipartisan climate solutions.
Our communities and our economy are enduring not only a devastating pandemic but also the rising costs of climate change. Record wildfires, flooding, hurricanes and other extreme weather are upending lives and livelihoods. And science makes clear that future generations will face far greater environmental, economic and health impacts unless we act now.
In many cases, the steps we must take to reduce these grave risks have the added benefit of generating substantial economic activity. Leveraging American investment and innovation toward the technologies of tomorrow will create jobs, drive growth, and strengthen U.S. competitiveness. Near-term climate actions can contribute significantly to our economic recovery.
Recognizing these risks and opportunities, seeing the broad public support for clean energy and climate protection, and hearing the concerns of our investors, customers, communities, and employees, our companies view climate action as a business imperative. We are each taking major steps to reduce our climate impact. We have publicly declared ambitious goals and are investing in clean technologies and other climate solutions.
But successfully meeting this global challenge requires strong, sustained leadership from Washington. To achieve a net-zero economy, the United States must establish durable national policies that harness market forces, mobilize investment and innovation, and provide the certainty needed to plan for the long term. It is also vital that our climate policies meet the needs of marginalized communities, low-income households, and workers and communities disadvantaged by the energy transition.
The United States has made important strides – emissions are down, and clean energy is up. With the election of a new President and Congress, we now have a critical opportunity to significantly strengthen these efforts. We stand ready to work with stakeholders on all sides and with our elected leaders to seize this moment and achieve ambitious, durable climate solutions.
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About C2ES: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to forge practical solutions to climate change. Our mission is to advance strong policy and action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote clean energy, and strengthen resilience to climate impacts. Learn more at www.c2es.org.
*The statement was updated on Jan. 16, 2021, to include 46 companies.