OpenLetter 2025
Page 2 of 3 · WEF_OpenLetter_2025.pdf
droughts, heatwaves, wildfire and flood risks, and more severe
storms. These impacts will disrupt food security, damage the
financial resilience of businesses and governments, and endanger
livelihoods, communities, healthcare systems and ecosystems.13
Despite these immediate impacts, policies remain fragmented
and uncertain, with varying levels of ambition and urgency. This
makes it harder for businesses to invest at the speed and scale
required to slow the rate of temperature increase. Reducing
emissions is only one part of the climate challenge, as many
impacts are already locked in, making investment in adaptation
and resilience critical.
Call to action: A wait-and-see
approach is not viable. Businesses
and policy-makers should act to
reinforce and boost the business
case in more areas.
Policy-makers can drive growth and create wealth by
accelerating the transition by:
1. Maintaining a stable and predictable policy environment:
Long-term policies and regulations should be ambitious,
stable and aligned with typical investment time horizons.
This will give businesses the confidence to commit capital in
emerging sectors, and plan for sustainable growth.
2. Mitigating the financial risk of private investments and
projects: Businesses need large-scale capital to invest
in the transition. Risk can be reduced through a range of
instruments across debt, equity, concessional finance,
blended capital and guarantees or mechanisms at project
level (e.g. power purchase agreements or carbon contracts
for difference).14
3. Doubling financing and incentives for breakthrough tech:
“Hard-to-abate” sectors such as those dependent on
industrial heat need breakthrough technologies that require
public support to scale, for example in the shape of R&D
funding, investments in pilots, ambitious green public
procurement policies, and transparent carbon markets and
pricing mechanism to send clear demand signals.15
4. Transitioning away from unabated fossil fuels: Develop
clear plans for a just, orderly and equitable transition,
redirecting subsidies and investments towards clean energy,
electrification and resilience.
5. Removing transition obstacles: Lengthy permitting
processes are a major barrier to scaling renewables,
grid build-out, other key low-carbon infrastructure, and
commercial projects driving decarbonization in operations.
Streamlining planning and approvals could cut project
timelines by up to 50% for wind and 75% for solar.16
6. Supporting investments and policies for nature: Nature is an
essential asset for economies and communities. Wetlands,
forests and the ocean deliver important ecosystem services,
such as carbon sequestration and sinks, soil protection and
water regulation.177. Building climate-resilient economies and food systems:
Submit detailed and investable National Adaptation Plans,
deploy climate hazard warning systems to protect people
and assets, develop financial tools to unlock private
adaptation investments (e.g. loans for large infrastructure
investments),18 and enhance the resilience of food
systems by supporting the rapid rollout of locally-relevant
regenerative and resilient agricultural practices across
diverse systems.
Governments cannot act alone: Fellow corporate
leaders should partner with policy-makers to unlock
more transition opportunities.
8. Target and deliver Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction:
Adopt science-based targets and report transparently on
your progress. Develop a credible climate transition plan to
guide your organization’s decarbonization journey.
9. Drive change in your industry: Address Scope 3 emissions
by working together across the value chain to drive low-
emission end products and business models. Partner with
coalitions, like the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, to share
best practices and support both suppliers’ and end-users’
decarbonization.19
10. Leverage efficiency solutions to reduce energy usage,
costs and emissions: Use energy audits to identify
savings, upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning
(HVAC) systems, optimize processes, and consider
alternative sources of energy that often have an attractive
business case.20
11. Strengthen innovation and digital solutions: Accelerate
research and development of advanced technologies,
including artificial intelligence (AI), while remaining mindful of
their environmental impact.
12. Support creation of demand signals: Combine corporate
goals where possible to increase demand for breakthrough
technologies, for example by joining industry alliances like
the First Movers Coalition, which supports hard-to-abate
sectors’ decarbonization.21
13. Invest in climate adaptation and resilience: Direct capital
towards climate-proofing facilities, diversifying supply
chains, and strengthening infrastructure to safeguard
operations and communities against extreme-weather
risks. Leverage advanced risk modelling and data tools
to assess and enhance the visibility of physical impacts
on key value chain assets.
Achieving this transformation will require deeper collaboration
between the public and private sectors, anchored in trust,
shared ambition and coordinated cross-regional action around
policy, finance and innovation. This will unlock a historic
commercial opportunity while supporting a fair transition ,
safeguarding people and planetary health. The moment is
crucial, and the actions taken today will determine the speed
and scale of the transformation.
This letter is endorsed by a majority of Alliance
members; however, it may not reflect the views of
all individual members.
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