Branson, Polman, Tata call on business for zero emissions by 2050
The leaders of Team B, a coalition about 12 CEOs and policymakers including Virgin founder Richard Branson, Unilever chief Paul Polman and Tata International's Ratan Tata, said a global net-zero emissions goal by 2050 will prompt businesses to embed new investments and clean energy research into their business strategies.
A November report by the U.N. Environment Programme said governments should phase out net carbon dioxide emissions by 2070 in order to meet a U.N. goal of limiting average temperature rises to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above levels before the Industrial Revolution.
Net-zero emissions, or carbon neutrality, means that any carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels should be offset, for instance by planting forests that suck carbon from the air as they grow.
Team B leaders said governments should agree to meet the UNEP target 20 years earlier to stave off the business risks and economic costs of failing to keep within the 2-degree threshold needed to avoid dangerous climate change impacts.
The group also called on governments to set policies to price carbon pollution, end fossil-fuel subsidies and help poor and vulnerable communities adapt to climate change.
Branson said the recent fall in oil prices by more that 50 percent presents an opportunity for governments to make a radical shift away from fossil fuels.
"If people want to come up with clean ways of powering cars, of powering houses – don't tax them," he said.