Confronting mistruths
02/10/2025
Below is the introduction to our latest newsletter. To read newsletters in full, sign up now or subscribe on Linkedin.
Dear Planetary Steward, dear friend of the Global Commons Alliance,
It is a mistruth that climate denial is growing faster than ambition. Amid setbacks, it’s easy to lose sight of climate and nature action steadily advancing across the globe. But the past week has shown the drive for solutions remains stronger than the obstacles.
China’s president Xi Jinping unexpectedly joined the UN General Assembly by video last week, to announce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions cuts for the first time. China will target 7-10% reductions below peak levels by 2035, as well as raise non-fossil share of energy to at least 30%. While this falls short of Paris Agreement goals, the move will incentivize others where “some countries” as the President stressed, are going backwards: “The international community should stay on the right track, maintain unwavering confidence, unwavering action, and undiminished efforts.”
Such efforts were happening right outside the UN headquarters as Climate Week NYC saw record events take place, with government, civil society and corporate leaders alike working together to drive clean energy growth and climate action. Skeptical views which promote a return to fossil-fuel are being over-run by the economics of renewables. Business ambition in the US and beyond is booming, fueled by unprecedented levels of collaboration for long-term resilience and profitability. From impressive corporate action to a new Planetary Health Check report, you can read about some of our Climate Week highlights from across the Alliance below.
United public-private leadership is also taking place across the finance world at Building Bridges Summit this week, and we look forward to more at next week’s Planetary Health Annual Meeting, where the wider community will converge to drive systemic change for a healthier planet. But this sort of collective effort isn’t just for business and civil society; it’s what people everywhere want. As part of Rockefeller Foundation’s new initiative ‘Build a Shared Future’ a survey from Focaldata finds that 75% of people worldwide support international cooperation to solve global problems.
Evidence such as the data [see image below] just released by Systems Change Lab on the critical shifts needed to transform governance can guide us, as progress continues in boardrooms, communities, and international forums. Even as some leaders step back, others step forward, proving that the collective will for a better future is resilient and growing. While the path ahead is unpredictable, citizens, businesses, and forward-looking governments agree on this clear truth: we must urgently work together to drive systems change for a just world on a safe planet.
With all our best,
Will Tucker, Director of Communications and Resource Mobilization, and Sebastian Schienle, Director of Partnerships and Programs
