United Church Funds is proud to be a supporter of the Paris Pledge for Action (L’Appel de Paris), an initiative joining over 100 parties with more than US$ 10 trillion in assets under management sending a clear indication of a commitment to a transition to a low-carbon economy.
Last week at COP 21, governments of the world united to adopt the Paris Agreement, the world’s first universal climate change accord where humanity has pledged to act collectively to limit dangerous climate change. This agreement will spur a transformation of global growth and development and open the door to a stable, sustainable future.
Today, major cities, regions, companies and investors from around the globe promised to quickly and effectively help implement the universal climate change agreement and accelerate the transformative changes needed to meet the climate change challenge. From the pledge:
“We welcome the adoption of a new, universal climate agreement at COP 21 in Paris, which is a critical step on the path to solving climate change. We pledge our support to ensuring that the level of ambition set by the agreement is met or exceeded.”
This landmark pledge is a clear signal that the message sent by the negotiations has been received loud and clear and that all actors are now ready and willing to stand shoulder to shoulder, alongside governments, to implement the terms of the agreement. This is our best opportunity to limit global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius and raise ambition even before the agreement takes effect in 2020.
Non-state actor leadership on climate change issues is a clear indication of the commitment to ensuring the world stays on the 2 degree trajectory. Securing a global agreement in Paris marks a significant milestone towards achieving this. However, it is only with non-state actor involvement that we can send a credible, coherent and unmistakable signal that the agreement will be implemented and commitments met, or even better, exceeded.