Earth Statement

The result of the Global Challenges Foundation and Earth League joining forces

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.

8 essential elements

These are the essential elements of climate action the leaders needed to commit to at COP21 in Paris

2 degrees

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.

1 trillion tonnes

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.

Zero emissions by 2050

Deep decarbonization starting immediately and leading to a zero-carbon society by 2050 or shortly thereafter is key to future prosperity.

193 countries

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.

100% clean energy

We must unleash a wave of climate innovation for the global good, and enable universal access to the technology solutions we already have.

Support for adaptation, loss and damage measures

Climate change is already happening. We need a massive increase in support for adaptation and loss and damage measures in developing countries.

Safeguard ecosystems

Safeguarding carbon sinks and vital ecosystems, is as important for climate protection as the reduction of emissions.

$100+ billion of climate finance

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.).

READ THE FULL STATEMENT

The Earth Statement is based on the research of Earth League members and their respective institutions.

For a list of scientific references underpinning the Statement, click here.

Who has joined our call?

Note that each individual supports the Earth Statement in their personal capacity, not as a representative of any of their organizations.

Zhang Yue

President and Chairman of BROAD Group, China

Yuan T. Lee

Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Taiwan

Winnie Byanyima

Executive Director of Oxfam International, Uganda

Dr. William Vendley

Secretary General, Religions for Peace, United States

William E. Moerner

Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, United States

Rev. Tafue Lusama

General Secretary of the Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu, Tuvalu

Susan Yap

Congresswoman, Philippines

Sulak Sivaraksa

Buddhist Spiritual Leader, Social Activist, and Writer, Thailand

Somboon Chungprampree

Executive Secretary, International Network of Engaged Buddhists, Thailand

Sister Jayanti

Director for Europe and the Middle East, Brahma Kumaris

Sirpa Pietikäinen

Member of the European Parliament, Chair of GLOBE EU, Finland

Silvia Damme

Student M.A. Sustainability Management & Climate KIC The Journey Alumni, Germany

Siddharth D’Souza

Coordinator, Laya Resource Centre, India

Sharan Burrow

General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Australia

Sergio Tejada

Congressman, Peru

Serge Salat

Architect, Urban Planner & Designer, France

Sandra Wu Wen-Hsiu

Chairperson and CEO, Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd. and Chair, UNISDR Private Sector Alliance (ARISE), Taiwan

Sajjad Hussain Abbasi

Administrator Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Pakistan

Saber Hossain Chowdhury

President of IPU, Bangladesh

S. Jahangir Hasan Masum

Executive Director, Coastal Development Partnership, Bangladesh

Russell Brand

Comedian, author and actor, United Kingdom

Sir Richard Branson

United Kingdom

Ronnie Chan

Chairman of the Asia Society Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Lt. Gen. Rajeder Singh

CEO, DLF Foundation and Former United Nations Force Commander, India

Prospery Raymond

Country Manager, Christian Aid, Haiti/Dominican Republic

Petter Bjersér

YMCA-RGE Working Group Leader on the Conference of the Parties, Sweden

Peter Cookson Smith

President, Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design, United Kingdom

Peter C. Doherty

Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Australia

Peter Bakker

President of WBCSD, Switzerland

Peter Agnefjäll

CEO and President, IKEA Group, Netherlands

Penny Sackett

Former Chief Scientist for Australia, Australia

Paul Polman

CEO, Unilever, Netherlands

Park Wonsoon

Mayor of Seoul, South Korea

Oscar Villacorta

YMCA, Peru

Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit

Secretary General, World Council of Churches, Switzerland/Norway

Bishop Noel A. Pantoja

National Director, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, Philippines

Mohammad Sayeed Khokon

Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation, Bangladesh

Dr. Mo Ibrahim

Founder and Chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Monaco

Mikael Karlsson

President of the European Environmental Bureau, Sweden

Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa

Mayor of Mexico City, Mexico

Merylene Chitharai

Hindu Youth Network of South Africa & Religions for Peace Global Interfaith Youth Network, South Africa

Maximiliano Cacace Bach

Mauricio Macri

Chief of Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mats Andersson

CEO, AP4 Sweden

Mathilde Emilie Thue

Coordinator YMCA Resource Group on the Environment, Norway

Mary Robinson

Former President of Ireland, Ireland

Maria Voce

President, Focolare Movement, Italy

Maria Khorsand

CEO SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Sweden

Dr. Lorna Gold

Head of Policy and Advocacy, Trócaire, Ireland

Loren Legarda

Senator, UNEP Laureate & UNISDR Champion, Philippines

Lord Prescott

Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom

Lila Karbassi

Head of Environment and Climate, UN Global Compact

Lesley-Anne Knight

CEO, The Elders, Former Secretary General, Caritas Internationalis, UK

Leah Barber

350NYC, The Interdependence Movement, United States

Cllr Kgosientso Ramokgopa

Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa

Keith Tuffley

Managing Partner & CEO, The B Team, United States

Karl-Johan Persson

CEO, H&M, Sweden

Karin Wanngård

Mayor of Stockholm, Sweden

Kam-sing Wong

Hong Kong Secretary of Environment, China

Juan Marco Alvarez

Board Member and Special Advisor to the Business Council for Sustainable Development, El Salvador

Jochen Zeitz

Co-Founder and Co-Chair of The B Team, Germany

Jo Leinen

Member of the European Parliament, Germany

Jessica Seddon

Director, OKAPI Research United States/India

Jean Oelwang

CEO, Virgin Unite, United Kingdom

James Mirrlees

Nobel Laureate in Economics, United Kingdom

Jairam Ramesh

Member of Parliament & Former Cabinet Minister for Rural Development Chair, Future Earth Engagement Committee, India

Hina Jilani

Lawyer & Human Rights Champion, Pakistan

Hans Vestberg

CEO, Ericsson, Sweden

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz

Mayor of Warsaw, Poland

Gustavo Petro Urrego

Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia

Gustavo Bonato Fruet

Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil

Guillermo Kerber Mas

Programme Executive Care for Creation and Climate Justice, World Council of Churches, Switzerland/Uruguay

Guilherme Leal

Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of the Board of Natura, Brazil

Gro Harlem Brundtland

Former Prime Minister, Norway & Deputy Chair, The Elders, Norway

Gregor Robertson

Mayor of Vancouver, Canada

Rev. Gloria Nohemy Ulloa Alvarado

World Council of Churches President from the Caribbean/Latin America, Colombia

HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad

Chief Advisor to King Abdullah II for Religious and Cultural Affairs and Personal Envoy of King Abdullah II, Jordan

George F. Smoot

Nobel Laureate in Physics, United States

Bishop Geoff Davies

Founder and Patron of SAFCEI, South Africa

Frank Jensen

Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Denmark

François-Henri Pinault

CEO & Chairman of Kering, France

Francesco Starace

CEO, Enel, Italy

Fazlun Khalid

Founder/Director, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, United Kingdom

Mme Fatemeh Hashemi Rafsanjani

Secretary General of Women Solidarity Association of Iran Iran

Faraimunashe Nkomo

University Student, Zimbabwe/Germany

Ernesto Zedillo

Former President of Mexico, Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Mexico

Eduardo Paes

Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Chair of C40, Brazil

Mr. Éamonn Meehan

Executive Director, Trócaire, Ireland

Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Emeritus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, South Africa

Christine Bruckner

President, American Institute of Architects, Hong Kong, United States

Cedric Frolick

Member of Parliament & House Chairperson, South Africa

Catherine Njuguna

African Interfaith Youth Network, Religions for Peace, Kenya

Dr. Burkhard Gnärig

Executive Director, International Civil Society Centre, Switzerland

Brian Schmidt

Nobel Laureate in Physics, United States

Dr. Benjamin Barber

Author and President of the Global Parliament of Mayors Project, United States

Basuki Tjahaya Purnama

Governor Of Jakarta, Indonesia

Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp

Jacob Soetendorp Institute for Human Values, The Hague, Netherlands

Azadeh Zarekar

Executive Board, World Student Environmental Network Iran

Augustine B. Njamnshi

Chair of Political and Technical Affairs Committee, Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, Cameroon

Aromar Revi

Director, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, India

Arianna Huffington

Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post, United States

Arcilon Rocha

YMCA Brazil, Brazil

Antje Jackelén

Archbishop of Church of Sweden, Sweden

Anita Negri

President, Oikos International, Switzerland

Anders Wijkman

Chair, Swedish Cross-Party Committee on Environmental Objectives & Co-president, Club of Rome, Sweden

Anders Wejryd

Archbishop, former primate of Church of Sweden, currently European President of World Council of Churches, Sweden

Anders Runevad

CEO, Vestas Denmark/Sweden

Dr. Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije

Mayor of Accra, Ghana

Al Gore

Former Vice President of the United States, Chairman of the Climate Reality Project, United States

Akinwunmi Ambode

Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria

Adi Godrej

Chairman, Godrej Group, India

Who is behind The Earth Statement?

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.