Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Nov. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, over 50 leading CEOs from across the African continent who are part of the Africa Business Leaders Coalition (ABLC) presented the Africa Business Leaders’ Climate Statement outlining credible corporate commitments and actions anchored in the goals of the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Global Compact Ten Principles.
Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General; Executive Director & CEO of the UN Global Compact speaking during the event Climate Action Now: A Critical Priority for Business Leaders said:
“The African business community is already changing Africa and impacting the world for the better. African companies are strengthening partnerships with critical stakeholders, especially governments, to jumpstart climate action across the continent. The Africa Business Leaders’ Climate Statement, which today has 55 signatories, brings a much-needed perspective and set of commitments to the global climate table. It reflects the strong commitment the ABLC member companies have made to driving sustainability efforts in their businesses and across their value chains and ecosystems.”
The Africa Business Leaders’ Climate Statement outlines key commitments companies can make to galvanize climate action through:
- Developing robust company resilience plans to improve our adaptive capacity and build systemic resilience
- Upholding the guiding principles of a just transition as central to all our climate actions and advocacy
- Setting targets to drastically increase the use of renewables to contribute to the continental goal of 27%
- Contributing to a global dialogue to advance the understanding of the 'fair share' principle.
The Africa Business Leaders’ Climate Statement also calls for action from the global community to:
- Fulfill and enhance the 100-billion-dollar goal by 2023 at the latest and ensure that at least 50% is invested in adaptation and resilience.
- Create an enabling environment that facilitates increased access to finance and ensures that African business can leverage global markets.
- Translate climate plans, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), into pipelines of bankable climate projects.
- Promote technology and knowledge exchange to make decarbonization and adaptation technologies and knowledge more accessible
The ABLC is a CEO-led initiative arising from the UN Global Compact Africa Strategy 2021–2023. It aims to create a stronger partnership between Africa’s private sector and the UN, in order to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063. The Ten Principles of the Global Compact are central tenets of the ABLC. The companies that make up the ABLC constitute a genuine pan-African voice with a clear potential to galvanize resources and action by the continent’s private sector. These companies currently represent a total of over one million employees; a combined revenue in excess of US$200 Billion; and a geographical coverage amounting to 93% of the continent.
Notes to Editors
About the Africa Business Leaders Coalition
The Africa Business Leaders Coalition (ABLC) is a CEO-led initiative emanating from the UN Global Compact Africa Strategy 2021–2023 committed to advancing sustainable growth, prosperity, and development in Africa by bringing measurable impact to its most pressing issues. The ABLC works closely with the UN Global Compact Hub in Abuja and 10 African Local Networks operating across Africa.
About the United Nations Global Compact
As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 15,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and 69 Local Networks, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world.
For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at unglobalcompact.org
Media Contact
Alex Gee
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