More Than 150 Companies Call for Green Coronavirus Recovery

By Dieter Holger

A group of corporations said Tuesday that governments world-wide should address climate change when spending money to alleviate the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis.

"To ensure we recover better, we are calling on governments and policymakers to match our ambitions in their recovery efforts aligned with reaching net-zero emissions well before 2050," the companies said.

The coalition of 155 companies with more than $2.4 trillion in total market value--including Adobe Inc., Unilever PLC, H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, Nestle SA and Salesforce.com Inc.--signed the statement, which was backed by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

"We can beat the virus, address climate change and create new jobs through actions that move us from the grey to green economy," Mr. Guterres said in prepared remarks.

The call comes as major economies, including the U.S. and European Union, are set to agree to trillions of dollars worth of stimulus spending in the coming weeks.

All of the companies that signed the statement are part of the Science Based Targets initiative, which aims to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Write to Dieter Holger at [e-mail]; @dieterholger

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2020 05:34 ET (09:34 GMT)

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