Dear John,
Let’s not sugarcoat things. The outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election represents a setback for climate action. The incoming administration has been very clear that it does not prioritize confronting climate change, has a track record of disregarding it, and has given every reason to believe that it will seek to roll back U.S. climate policy, this time around. Wherever your other policy and political priorities lie, it is a moment of rightful concern for anybody who cares about preventing the worst impacts of climate change.
Yet here I am, still feeling optimistic about this enormous challenge in front of us.
How can that be? It starts with the recognition that the private sector has been a clear driver of climate action and the clean energy economy across the world. Investors and companies have invested trillions in capital, built and adopted innovative technologies, and created the infrastructure to power our homes and businesses.
There is, to be sure, so much more to be done to mitigate climate-related financial risks and seize the enormous business opportunities of clean energy. Yet even in the aftermath of the election, you don’t see private-sector leaders slowing down.
In fact, just days after President-elect Trump won his new term, more than 650 investors with $33 trillion in assets called for a whole-of-government approach to implement policies in line with the Paris Agreement.
As leading companies and investors have been saying, and showing, for years and years now, good climate policy makes for good economic policy.
Read more about why I'm cautiously optimistic in my latest post on Reuters. |
| Ceres has been at the forefront of building private sector action on climate and other global threats for 35 years now. I’m confident that working with our powerful networks of investors and companies we can continue to move forward together. |
