A coalition of real economy leaders called “Mission 2025”, comprised of mayors, governors, CEOs, investors, and residents, has launched a campaign urging governments to align their upcoming national climate plans with the Paris Agreement target of limiting global heating to 1.5°C.
This initiative comes less than a year before the crucial February 2025 deadline, when countries are required to submit enhanced climate plans (Nationally Determined Contributions) to the United Nations for the period 2025-2035.
Mission 2025’s statement, supported by C40 Cities, is co-signed by the heads of leading organisations and companies such as IKEA, Unilever, The B Team, C2ES, Climate Crisis Advisory Group, Climate Group, Club of Rome, E3G, ECF, WBCSD, We Are Family Foundation, and We Mean Business Coalition. These organisations, at the forefront of business and subnational action, stated:
We are ready to embolden governments to set more ambitious plans and accelerate implementation. We know this can unlock trillions in private investment to protect our nature, scale cheap renewable energy, support industries to compete in a low carbon economy, and safeguard living standards equitably for our people.
– Mission 2025 coalition
These organisations highlight that governments can be emboldened by the rapid progress already underway towards a 1.5°C-aligned economy. This argument is bolstered by new data from the Net Zero Tracker, which indicates that more than two-thirds of annual revenues (US$31 trillion) across the world’s largest companies are now aligned with net zero, representing a 45% increase in just two years. Additionally, the WBCSD reports that 55 companies, with revenues of over US$4.4 trillion, have published transition plans consistent with the science-based pathways of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
Mission 2025 responds to analyses by the Energy Transitions Commission, showing that the rapidly falling costs of clean technologies and the proven feasibility of other solutions mean that countries can collectively almost triple their ambition and bring the world on a 2°C pathway by considering the commitments made and progress achieved since the previous plans were submitted in 2021.
Christiana Figueres, Co-Founder of Global Optimism, said: “The launch of Mission 2025 today is a clear rebuttal to everyone claiming that moving faster on tackling the climate crisis is too difficult, too unpopular, or too expensive. The ambition expressed by the Mayors, investors, and businesses in this coalition should give governments the confidence to bring their 2025 climate plans in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities, said: “75% of C40 cities are slashing per capita emissions faster than their respective national governments and all C40 members have action plans to align their economies with 1.5°C as a condition of membership. This is the path to future shared prosperity, creating millions of good, green jobs and charting a just transition out of the inequality and pollution of the fossil fuel era. We urge governments to grasp the opportunity to create plans aligned with 1.5°C and to make these shared national targets by meaningfully partnering with local and regional governments, philanthropy, businesses, trade unions, and civil society to deliver them.”