During the opening plenary session of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2000 in Davos, Switzerland, participants voted climate change as the leading challenge for the 21st century among ten potential issues. Although so many profound events have transpired since January 2000, advancing the issue of global climate change remains a very important challenge – one where businesses can take a leadership role.

The Forum's member companies in the automotive sector recognize the importance of climate change. Cars and trucks emit carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the primary greenhouse gases that contributes to the climate change phenomenon. But who is responsible for that CO2? The consumer who purchases and uses the vehicle? The vehicle manufacturer? The government? The answer is a combination of many stakeholders. One of the goals of this initiative was to clarify and articulate how that responsibility is shared among many different stakeholders.

The World Economic Forum will continue to serve as a platform for discussion, debate and action on the important issue of global climate change.

For more information on the Automotive Industry and Global Climate Change, please contact automotiveclimatechange@weforum.org

What is the Automotive Industry Doing about Climate Change?

To support the process of dialogue, Booz Allen Hamilton and the Forum created a document to capture a common answer to the question: What is the automotive industry doing about climate change?

The document was continually revised to reflect the suggestions of each of the participating automotive companies. While many automotive companies contributed to the development of the document, it does not necessarily represent the position of all the of the contributors nor the views of the World Economic Forum. The final version of the document was used to facilitate a follow-up discussion on climate change at the World Economic Forum Governors Meeting for the Automotive Industry 2002 in New York.

Download the full report:
http://www.weforum.org/pdf/auto_initiative/Final_Elevator_Speech.pdf

Source: World Economic Forum