Volvo Cars has joined the Accelerating to Zero Coalition, which launched at the United Nations’ COP27, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
The Accelerating to Zero Coalition consists of a broad group of stakeholders committed to facilitating and increasing the pace of the transition to zero-emission mobility. It builds on last year’s Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Vehicles at COP26, with signatories committed to making all global car and van sales free of tailpipe-emission free by 2040.
“We must urgently work against re-orientate financial mechanisms to help us stay within the limit of 1.5 degree global warming. This can both add stability for investors as well as support a just transition for affected workers and farmers, families and communities that will be affected as a result of such changes,” said Head of Sustainability Anders Kärrberg.
The formation of the coalition is intended to address the need for an international platform for global zero-tailpipe-emission vehicle (ZEV) leadership, creating the right conditions to boost zero-tailpipe-emission cars and vans, including the electrification of corporate fleets and the development of a comprehensive charging infrastructure.
“Combustion engines are technology of the past and we must abandon them if we are to meet the greatest threat facing humanity – climate change,” said CE Jim Rowan. The announcement comes a week after the launch of Volvo Cars’ new fully electric Volvo EX90. The company intends to launch one new electric car every year in the coming years.
Separately, Volvo Cars joined more than 200 other businesses and civil society organisations in signing a call, organised by the We Mean Business Coalition, on national governments to increase their climate ambition and delivery. So far only 29 out of 194 countries have done so after COP26, despite pledging to do so under the Glasgow Climate Pact. The call makes clear that 1.5 degrees of global warming is a limit rather than a target, and that urgent national action is essential if the world is not to exceed this limit.
In addition, Volvo announced its participation in the Call on Carbon initiative. “We recognise the role carbon pricing has in helping tackle climate change,” said Kärrberg, adding, “When announcing our internal carbon price of 1,000 SEK for every tonne of carbon emissions at COP26, we became the first car maker to implement a global carbon pricing mechanism, covering its complete value chain emissions.”
