Action is what matters to keep 1.5°C alive - reflections from #climateweek

Last week, New York, was the place bringing leaders from governments, organisations, NGO’s and society together to address how we collectively can solve the problem we all face – the climate crisis.

We continue to see how millions of people are being impacted by the climate crisis; wildfires in Canada that turned New York's skies orange; floods in Libya, earthquakes in Morocco; the drought of Panama Canal – I can go on, yet you’re aware of this. The climate crisis is our collective responsibility, together we are the generation that can change the course as every faction of a degree counts.

As businesses and governments, we have the great responsibility and opportunity to limit global warming to below 1.5°C. 1.5°C should not be mistaken for a target, it’s a limit. And the science is clear, we need to drastically reduce carbon emissions, now, to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050 the latest. The trajectory at this moment is higher, and the planet is expected to reach 1.5 already 2027, according to scientists.

Against this backdrop, I travelled to New York with optimism and determination as most of the solutions to tackle the crisis are already available. We gathered more than 30 climate solutions in our space, Action Speaks Summit , to inspire many companies to implement, scale and drive climate action with speed. It was an exhibition circulating around 5 of the key solutions to solve the climate crisis; how we eat, power, move, make and grow with examples from companies such as SSAB and 沃尔沃汽车 , Notpla , E.ON , Harley-Davidson Motor Company , Hitachi , and RetourMatras Group (among many more). In addition, we also brought together more than 1000 people from governments, businesses, academia, and civil society to discuss how we can accelerate climate actions as well as bust climate myths.?

The solutions are out there – we can solve it by working together

A we approach COP28 in November, it has become even more important that governments and companies show global leadership do their part to end dependance on fossil fuels in a way that is good for people and the planet. ?We have it in our own hands to change the direction and we all need to step up – we are the first generation to really understand climate change, and the last generation that can be part of solving it. ?needed?to?deliver our own?climate?plans and ambitions, and we expect governments to do so as well.

We are in the most important decade of humankind when it comes to climate, there is no time to withdraw from commitments and goals. The only way forward is to collaborate, innovate and act on solutions that will reduce carbon emissions, with speed and impact. This needs to be done across industries, businesses, society and governments.

To be part of tackling the climate crisis we must:

1. Lead with action. There are already enough of concrete solutions to create the positive impact needed. Let’s get things done, inspire others with our actions, and spread the solutions.
2. Act with speed. The clock is ticking and the negative impacts we feared are already here. We will not put off till tomorrow what we can do today. We will dare to test and try new things and push to scale solutions fast. ?
3. Focus on impact. With little time and stakes this high, we need to focus on solutions with the biggest impact. Symbolic actions can inspire, but it’s the transformative, impactful ones that make the difference. ?
4. Work together. To solve problems, we need teamwork like never before. Let’s find ways to work together, collaborate rather than compete. ?
5. Prove that it’s good business to be a good business. Actions and solutions needed, aren’t just good for the planet – it’s also pre-requisites for long term commercial success. Resource smart, is climate smart, is cost smart.

In the end, actions speak louder than words! ?

More reflection can be found at Ingka.com and to read more about our sustainability performance and commitments see the Annual & Sustainability Summary report and Climate Change advocacy .