Companies urge world leaders at UN to follow renewable energy targets By Reuters

By Valerie Volcovici and Simon Jessop

NEW YORK (Reuters) – CEOs of several major companies urged world leaders on Monday to follow through on an international agreement reached at the COP28 summit in Dubai last year to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to fight against climate change.

The companies, including massive energy consumer Amazon.com (NASDAQ: ) and power producers such as Vestas and Iberdrola (OTC: ), issued the statement at an event on the sidelines of United Nations Climate Week in New York.

They called on countries to include quantifiable targets for renewable energy capacity in their new national climate plans, which will be presented to the UN in February, and to outline specific investment plans to ensure these targets are met.

Maintaining countries’ focus on tripling renewable energy is among the top topics at Climate Week and the UN General Assembly, where world leaders, companies and NGOs hope to strengthen international climate commitments.

Meanwhile, California announced on Monday, on the sidelines of the events, that it has filed a lawsuit against the oil giant. ExxonMobil (NYSE: ) for its alleged role in global plastic waste pollution.

Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state decided to sue Exxon after concluding a nearly two-year investigation that found Exxon was misleading the public about recycling limitations.

Exxon denies the claim.

The UN is in the middle of a series of climate-related events that began on Sunday alongside the General Assembly.

In speeches on Sunday, some leaders warned of growing mistrust between nations as climate-related disasters mount. “International challenges are moving faster than our ability to address them,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told leaders at the summit.

“Crises interact and feed off each other – for example, as digital technologies spread climate disinformation, which deepens mistrust and fuels polarization.”

Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados echoed Guterres’ warning and called for a “reset” of how global institutions are governed so they can better respond to crises and serve those most in need.