At COP27, investors, companies, and policymakers must accelerate urgent action on the climate and water crises to cut emissions in half by 2030

Climate Week 2022 provides an opportunity to celebrate and build upon historic U.S. climate action and investments, as private and public sector leaders raise ambition commitments and policies to capitalize on the opportunities of the net zero transition

With Climate Week 2022 set to commence next week, Ceres is calling on investors, companies, and policymakers to raise their climate ambition, building off the momentum of the recently signed U.S. Inflation Reduction Act to make the most of this game-changing moment in history.  

The convening couldn’t come at a more critical time. In the first half of 2022 alone, climate-linked extreme weather events caused an estimated $65 billion in losses worldwide. That’s double the losses from the same time period in 2018.  And, with global greenhouse gas emissions and average temperatures continuing to rise, these numbers will continue to grow.  

Ceres experts will make the business case for climate action in high-level remarks and panel discussions, both in person and virtually. They will highlight recent policy victories, among other climate wins, as well as new and existing global initiatives driving collaboration to accelerate private-public sector action. These include the Ceres Ambition 2030 initiative to accelerate emissions reductions in the highest-emitting sectors and Climate Action 100+ to ensure the world’s largest corporate emitters take necessary climate. More specifically, Ceres experts will urge U.S. federal regulators to find common ground for a mandatory climate disclosure rule that can be issued now, so the marketplace can focus on implementation.  

“This year we took a monumental step in the fight against the climate crisis and that is something to celebrate,” said Ceres CEO & President Mindy Lubber. “But to meet our climate goals and complete the transition to a just and inclusive net zero economy by 2050, more work lies ahead. At Climate Week 2022, Ceres will continue to encourage companies, investors, state and federal lawmakers and regulators to keep pushing forward with ambitious climate action plans and policies to ensure we meet our all-important targets and protect our communities and economy from the material and financial risks of climate change.” 

Featured events with Ceres experts include: 

• Thursday, September 15, at 9 am ET: A Call to Action: Investor Momentum Toward Ambitious Climate Policy. The Investor Agenda is hosting a webinar around investor momentum on climate policy to publicly mark the launch of the 2022 Global Investor Statement. This webinar will see investors from around the world discuss the importance of targeted policy advocacy to leverage essential capital for the transition to a net zero economy.  

• Tuesday, September 20, at 9 am ET: The Hub Live, US Session 2: Accountability in action: ensuring equity considerations are built into sustainability investments. Mindy Lubber joins Mark Chambers, formerly with the White House, and Vien Truong of Nike to discuss accountable climate action, and how equity considerations are a key tool of accountability. Guests will discuss the role equity considerations play in the climate movement, and the ways that both public and private sector actors can work justice and equity into their sustainability priorities.  

• Tuesday, September 20, at 12 pm ET: Accelerating Corporate Support for the Advanced Clean Cars II Program. The ACC II program will help businesses access the electric vehicle models they need to meet their electrification goals by requiring an increasing number of EVs to be made available each year. This webinar will feature business leaders, state officials, and policy experts on the benefits of adopting ACC II across the nation. 

• Wednesday, September 21, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm ET: Accounting for Climate. Material climate-related risks should not be ignored as they can impact reported profitability, invested capital, and investor and management decisions. However, Carbon Tracker’s seminal Flying Blind shows that companies are failing to provide the financial impacts of such risks or to follow through on announcements or discussions regarding climate risks and emissions targets in their financial statements. Tracey Cameron, director, corporate climate engagement, at Ceres, joins an expert group of voices to discuss solutions at this hybrid event.   

• Wednesday, September 21: United Nations Climate Action: Race to Zero and Resilience Forum. Michael R. Bloomberg and the UN Climate Change High-level Champions for COP26 & COP27 will host a landmark summit during the UN General Assembly and Climate Week in New York City, convening business, finance, government, civic and cultural leaders. Mindy Lubber will speak during the associated breakout event "Net Zero Finance in a Perfect Storm World, with GFANZ and the Alliances," at 3:20pm ET, taking place at The Plaza Hotel, New York City, NY. 

• Thursday, September 22: SME Climate Hub launch event at the Nest Summit. The SME Climate Hub and America Is All, alongside Ceres and the We Mean Business Coalition, will unite leaders across businesses, government, and civil society to accelerate climate action amongst small and medium sized businesses. This in-person event will feature small businesses driving climate action within their own companies and communities and candidly discuss the support they need to move further, faster and prosper in the growing net zero economy. 

• Thursday, September 22, at 8 pm ET: Net-Zero: From Target to Action, with MSCI and the CECP. More than 1,200 companies have set science-based targets in line with net zero. As pressure mounts from their own constituents to decarbonize, institutional investors are looking for the companies they invest in to shift from net zero pronouncements to concrete net zero action plans. Mindy Lubber will join MSCI and the CECP to speak at this in-person breakfast session that will examine some of the questions that investors and companies are confronting as they are working on putting net zero into practice. 

• Thursday, September 22: Sustainable Innovation Forum North America 2022. Asset owners and investment managers, institutional investors, pension funds, banks, development banks, policymakers, think tanks, and NGOs will gather for this in-person event to keep building the momentum for sustainable finance and responsible investment. Ceres Executive Vice President and Chief Program Office Dawn Martin and Chief Economist and Senior Advisor for Just and Inclusive Economies Amit Bando will join SIF in-person. 

• Wednesday, September 28: Financing a Net Zero Economy Banks must align their climate strategies and tactics with all aspects of their business strategy to successfully develop and implement net zero commitments. This in-person event will bring together bank leaders, bank investors, and civil society  to establish a common focus on climate transition plans that include green financing, client engagement, just transition, and robust disclosures.  

Investors and companies across all sectors are acting because they see the opportunities of the net zero transition and have made clear their support for policies that increase access to clean energy and transportation options, so they can meet their own climate goals, control their costs, and mitigate climate risks. More than 2,900 businesses of all sizes, representing every industry and totaling more than 400 million global employees, advocated for ambitious federal climate investments over that last year. And, 532 investors with $39 trillion in assets just released their most ambitious call for government climate action, urging policymakers to adopt five policy recommendations, including mandatory corporate climate disclosure.   

Next week, Ceres will have a hand in several new announcements showing that the shift toward a net zero economy is not slowing down. Businesses will share their support for driving up the number of zero-emission vehicles on U.S. roadway, leaders in the food and clothing sectors will call on Congress to assemble a climate-smart farm bill, state governors will announce climate action plans, and advocates will reveal opportunities for small businesses to reduce emissions and reap the benefit of clean energy.  

Go to www.ceres.org/climateweek for the latest updates.  

Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.