We can tackle climate change if we work together

Today, as world leaders gather in Katowice, Poland for the UN climate summit (COP24), the IKEA Foundation is forging new partnerships to fight climate change.

The summit gets underway in the wake of one of the starkest climate warnings so far. In a report published in September 2018, the world’s leading climate scientists said our current actions are not enough to meet the target of 1.5°C of warming set out in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. We need to do more. Our window of opportunity is shrinking.

Elizabeth McKeon, Climate Action Portfolio Lead explains “COP24 will be a success if countries can agree how to revise and resubmit their targets for 2020. To achieve this, countries must adopt a “Paris Rulebook”, an operating manual that sets uniform principles and measurements around greenhouse gas reduction and climate adaptation plans.”

So, in October, we gave a grant to the World Resource Institute, to produce the “Paris Rulebook Explainer“, guidance on what countries should consider when developing their plans to tackle climate change. This will be shared at COP24 and will be essential element to ensure all members to adopt the new Rulebook.

And no targets can be reached without leadership from the private sector, which accounts for 70% of all emissions. That is why we have supported the We Mean Business coalition since 2014. Our partnership strengthens private sector commitments and solutions, working together on best practices for business to reduce carbon footprints, increase renewable energy adoption and expand electric vehicle infrastructure around the globe.

It’s also why, in September this year, we committed to spend an additional €300 million on Climate Action, joining 29 other donors who collectively pledged to spend a total of $4 billion USD over the next five years on climate change mitigation.

We want to see the Polish COP Presidency succeed, and we want the voices and aspirations of the Polish people to be a part of that success. To fulfil that vision, we are collaborating with partners in Poland who are bringing attention to climate-related problems that affect people’s lives, such as poor air quality.

Everyone has a role to play when it comes to fighting climate change. That is why we believe in standing up and paving the way for unprecedented collaboration. There is no one solution for climate change, but a wide variety that will help make a liveable planet for the many people.