In 2015 the Global Challenges Foundation joined forces with Earth League, a network of the world’s 17 leading climate scientists, to develop the climate petition Earth Statement. The petition summarized the synthesis of the global research on climate change. Boiling it down to eight elements regarding what the world’s leaders needed to commit to at the Paris climate conference (COP21). A comprehensive list of the some one hundred influential individuals, who all endorsed the petition, can be found below.
To further bring the statement to the people – who are, and, to a continuously increasing degree will, continue to be the victims of climate change – a social media campaign was launched. In it individuals were encouraged to sign the statement on their hand or the like. A plethora of the pictures from the campaign wrapped the New York Times during COP21. As of right now, the Earth League scientists are analyzing the content of the COP21 agreement, looking at it through the lens of Earth Statement’s eight elements. We will publish the analysis on this site when it is finalized.
Read the full Earth Statement here.
These are the essential elements of climate action the leaders needed to commit to at COP21 in Paris
Governments must put into practice their commitment to limit global warming to below 2°C, the maximum warming limit before we risk dangerous climate change.
The remaining global carbon budget – the limit for what the carbon dioxide we can still emit in the future - must be well below 1 trillion tons (1000 Gt CO2) to have a reasonable chance to hold the 2°C line.
Deep decarbonization starting immediately and leading to a zero-carbon society by 2050 or shortly thereafter is key to future prosperity.
All 193 countries need to develop deep decarbonization plans. Rich countries and progressive industries can and should take the lead and decarbonize well before mid-century.
We must unleash a wave of climate innovation for the global good, and enable universal access to the technology solutions we already have.
Climate change is already happening. We need a massive increase in support for adaptation and loss and damage measures in developing countries.
Safeguarding carbon sinks and vital ecosystems, is as important for climate protection as the reduction of emissions.
Governments need to provide additional support to developing countries to deal with climate change at a level at least comparable to current global development aid (around 135 billion USD p.a.).
The Earth Statement is based on the research of Earth League members and their respective institutions.
Note that each individual supports the Earth Statement in their personal capacity, not as a representative of any of their organizations.
President and Chairman of BROAD Group, China
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Taiwan
Executive Director of Oxfam International, Uganda
Secretary General, Religions for Peace, United States
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, United States
General Secretary of the Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu, Tuvalu
Congresswoman, Philippines
Buddhist Spiritual Leader, Social Activist, and Writer, Thailand
Executive Secretary, International Network of Engaged Buddhists, Thailand
Director for Europe and the Middle East, Brahma Kumaris
Member of the European Parliament, Chair of GLOBE EU, Finland
Student M.A. Sustainability Management & Climate KIC The Journey Alumni, Germany
Coordinator, Laya Resource Centre, India
General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Australia
Congressman, Peru
Architect, Urban Planner & Designer, France
Chairperson and CEO, Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd. and Chair, UNISDR Private Sector Alliance (ARISE), Taiwan
Administrator Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Pakistan
President of IPU, Bangladesh
Executive Director, Coastal Development Partnership, Bangladesh
Comedian, author and actor, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Chairman of the Asia Society Hong Kong, Hong Kong
CEO, DLF Foundation and Former United Nations Force Commander, India
Country Manager, Christian Aid, Haiti/Dominican Republic
YMCA-RGE Working Group Leader on the Conference of the Parties, Sweden
President, Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design, United Kingdom
Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Australia
President of WBCSD, Switzerland
CEO and President, IKEA Group, Netherlands
Former Chief Scientist for Australia, Australia
CEO, Unilever, Netherlands
Mayor of Seoul, South Korea
YMCA, Peru
Secretary General, World Council of Churches, Switzerland/Norway
National Director, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, Philippines
Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation, Bangladesh
Founder and Chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Monaco
President of the European Environmental Bureau, Sweden
Mayor of Mexico City, Mexico
Hindu Youth Network of South Africa & Religions for Peace Global Interfaith Youth Network, South Africa
Chief of Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
CEO, AP4 Sweden
Coordinator YMCA Resource Group on the Environment, Norway
Former President of Ireland, Ireland
President, Focolare Movement, Italy
CEO SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Sweden
Head of Policy and Advocacy, Trócaire, Ireland
Senator, UNEP Laureate & UNISDR Champion, Philippines
Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom
Head of Environment and Climate, UN Global Compact
CEO, The Elders, Former Secretary General, Caritas Internationalis, UK
350NYC, The Interdependence Movement, United States
Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa
Managing Partner & CEO, The B Team, United States
CEO, H&M, Sweden
Mayor of Stockholm, Sweden
Hong Kong Secretary of Environment, China
Board Member and Special Advisor to the Business Council for Sustainable Development, El Salvador
Co-Founder and Co-Chair of The B Team, Germany
Member of the European Parliament, Germany
Director, OKAPI Research United States/India
CEO, Virgin Unite, United Kingdom
Nobel Laureate in Economics, United Kingdom
Member of Parliament & Former Cabinet Minister for Rural Development Chair, Future Earth Engagement Committee, India
Lawyer & Human Rights Champion, Pakistan
CEO, Ericsson, Sweden
Mayor of Warsaw, Poland
Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia
Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil
Programme Executive Care for Creation and Climate Justice, World Council of Churches, Switzerland/Uruguay
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of the Board of Natura, Brazil
Former Prime Minister, Norway & Deputy Chair, The Elders, Norway
Mayor of Vancouver, Canada
World Council of Churches President from the Caribbean/Latin America, Colombia
Chief Advisor to King Abdullah II for Religious and Cultural Affairs and Personal Envoy of King Abdullah II, Jordan
Nobel Laureate in Physics, United States
Founder and Patron of SAFCEI, South Africa
Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Denmark
CEO & Chairman of Kering, France
CEO, Enel, Italy
Founder/Director, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, United Kingdom
Secretary General of Women Solidarity Association of Iran Iran
University Student, Zimbabwe/Germany
Former President of Mexico, Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Mexico
Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Chair of C40, Brazil
Executive Director, Trócaire, Ireland
Archbishop Emeritus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, South Africa
President, American Institute of Architects, Hong Kong, United States
Member of Parliament & House Chairperson, South Africa
African Interfaith Youth Network, Religions for Peace, Kenya
Executive Director, International Civil Society Centre, Switzerland
Nobel Laureate in Physics, United States
Author and President of the Global Parliament of Mayors Project, United States
Governor Of Jakarta, Indonesia
Jacob Soetendorp Institute for Human Values, The Hague, Netherlands
Executive Board, World Student Environmental Network Iran
Chair of Political and Technical Affairs Committee, Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, Cameroon
Director, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, India
Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post, United States
YMCA Brazil, Brazil
Archbishop of Church of Sweden, Sweden
President, Oikos International, Switzerland
Chair, Swedish Cross-Party Committee on Environmental Objectives & Co-president, Club of Rome, Sweden
Archbishop, former primate of Church of Sweden, currently European President of World Council of Churches, Sweden
CEO, Vestas Denmark/Sweden
Mayor of Accra, Ghana
Former Vice President of the United States, Chairman of the Climate Reality Project, United States
Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria
Chairman, Godrej Group, India
Climate change will leave no part of our society and natural environment untouched. The Earth Statement is written by the 17 leading scientists and economists of the Earth League. They have joined forces with the Global Challenges Foundation and leaders from all aspects of our society to deliver this message to the decision makers of our time.
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Grantham Institute, UK
TERI University, India
The South Center, Switzerland
Earth Institute, USA
Potsdam Institute, Germany
Earth Institute, United States
Scripps Institution, USA
INPE, Brazil
IIASA, Austria
World Resources Institute, USA
Centro Mario Molina, Mexico
IIASA, Austria
Grantham Institute, UK
Mercator Research Institute, Germany
Max Planck Institute, Germany
Stockholm Resilience Center, Sweden