Climate Leadership Coalition calls for ambitious long-term climate goals and a systemic, market-driven solution

The EU’s emissions reduction target currently only goes up to 2030. For 2050, there is a long-term reduction goal of 80-95%. Unclear long-term targets create uncertainty for long-term investors, and this slows down the transition towards a more sustainable economy.

“As climate change proceeds, we need to rapidly increase investments in solutions that curb it. National climate policies, which often tend to change with new governments, increase uncertainty among investors. An EU-wide, predictable, market-based solution that would also raise carbon prices to a sufficient level would encourage companies to develop clean, climate-friendly solutions more quickly and on a larger scale,” says Chief Executive Officer of CLC, Jouni Keronen.

Keronen mentions industrial and energy-related investments with an economic lifecycle of 40-60 years as examples. 

A Clean Planet for all,a strategic vision published by the European Commission in November 2018, and the speechgiven in July this year by the new President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to announce her European Green Deal proposal to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent, are an excellent basis for a systemic solution.

“Europe launched the industrial revolution, which has led to the greenhouse effect and climate change. That is why the European Union must, as a trailblazer, find a solution to get the situation under control in the most sensible way,” says Keronen.

CLC does not provide a ready-made solution for practical implementation but encourages the Commission to prepare it in cooperation with businesses.

According to our knowledge, CLC is the largest climate-business network for senior management in the EU measured by the amount of members. Its members include 56 major companies and organizations, whose stock market value is more than half of that of the Helsinki Stock Exchange. The Coalition’s members believe that a profound transition of society towards sustainable consumption habits and economy is not only possible but also economically viable and financeable.