Senior executives call for ‘urgent and immediate’ action on climate change

The flash poll of 2,324 senior executives from across the globe found that almost half (46%) of the respondents agreed that ‘urgent and immediate action’ was necessary.

Carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the poll showed that 33% of respondents agreed that the effects of climate change ‘require significant changes to lifestyles and business practices’, while 11% say the effects of climate change are manageable without major ‘political and economic adjustments’.

The remaining respondents said that the effects of climate change are not ’caused principally by human activity’.

Results of the poll come just weeks after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment report, which claims that global emissions of greenhouse gases have risen to unprecedented levels despite a growing number of policies to reduce climate change. 

Further highlighting concerns of the corporate sector, last week a coalition of companies from around the globe, including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Tesco and Unilever, called on policy makers to take a number of actions in line with the science of the IPCC.

Leigh Stringer