Open letter: Lead or lose, a call to secure Europe’s future through sustainability
Gokul Shekar
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· 5 min read
Dear President von der Leyen,
Dear Commissioners Maroš Šefčovič, Wopke Hoekstra,
Dear Representatives Canfin and Eickhout (ENVI Committee Chairs),
Dear Members of the European Parliament and,
Dear Heads of State, Parliamentarians, Policy Leaders across Europe,
We are writing to you at a critical moment for Europe and for the planet.
Over the past decade, Europe has shown the world what climate leadership looks like, through vision and bold legislation. Today, under short term pressures the importance of leadership is greater than ever, yet it is at risk of being lost.
This moment demands clarity and determination. A strong climate agenda is the foundation for resilience, innovation and long-term prosperity. We must seize this opportunity to create green jobs and businesses, deliver energy security, and rebuild trust with the next generation.
We would therefore urge you to reaffirm and accelerate Europe’s commitment to climate action across five essential areas:
• Uphold Europe's commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
• Enact legally binding interim climate goals every five years until 2050
• End all direct and indirect support for fossil energy by 2035 — including fuel subsidies and infrastructure funds for new LNG and natural gas projects
• Achieve 45% renewable energy by 2030
• Lead global efforts to protect 30% of the world's oceans by 2030
• Mandate at least a 50% reduction in pesticide use by 2030
• Require that at least 50% of all Europe’s public procurements are explicitly sustainable by 2030, including health care, education, and public administration
• Standardise and simplify Europe-wide sustainability criteria for public tenders
• Maintain the core ambition of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) despite recent delays and adjustments
• Introduce auditing and enforcement mechanisms for corporate climate commitments
Many corporations are stepping up, but a sustained collective effort unambiguously supported by Europe is essential.
At a time of financial uncertainty and systemic risk, Europe cannot afford to lose its world’s strategic leadership on climate change. “Our Europe must lead by example” and secure long-term prosperity with sustainability.
We ask you to choose courage over caution.
With respect and urgency,
• Adrian Wons, CEO & Founder, Senken, Germany
• Adrien de Malherbe, CEO, allcolibri, France
• Afonso Firmo, Co-CEO & Co-Founder, NetNada, AUS
• Alain Romero, Founder, Forests To Fortune, USA
• Alexis Normand, CEO & Co-Founder, Greenly, France
• Andrea Attilio Riva, CFO, IQVIA, Italy
• Andrea Gori, CEO, illuminem, Italy
• Angelo Bonelli, Spokesperson, Green Europe and Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Italy
• Anne Currie, Author of Building Green Software, UK
• Archana Pai, Founder, Costmos, India
• Armando Mattei, CEO & Co-Founder, PlanBee, Italy
• Benjamin Rombaut, CEO & Co-Founder, Sand to Green, France
• Benjamin Schulz, Founder, Altitude, Swizerland
• Benoit Lambert, President & Founder, Cbiochar, Canada
• Bjørn Rask Thomsen, Europe Director, Earth Innovation Institute, Norway
• Charles Lechoux, CEO & Co-Founder, Carbonds, France
• Elena Morettini, Global Head of Sustainable Business, Globant, Argentina
• Ellie Su, COO, illuminem, Canada
• Federico Garcea, Co-Founder, Treedom, Italy
• Felix Bartlett, CEO, Biothread, UK
• Fred Fournier, CEO & Co-Founder, Open Forest Protocol, Switzerland
• Gabriele Rorandelli, CEO & Co-Founder, Zerow, Italy
• Giovanni Facchinetti, Managing Partner & Founder, Positive Organization, Switzerland
• Guido Giardini, CEO & Co-Founder, Spector Padel House, Italy
• Gustave Loriot-Boserup, Founder, Compass Insights, UK
• Jeremias Finster, Founder & Chief Ecosystems Officer, Atacama New Vision GmbH, Germany
• Jeronimo Souza, Co-Founder and CPO, Sofa Activist, UK
• Joseph Hargreaves, Co-Founder, Thallo, UK
• Julia Jadin, Co-Founder, Act Justly, Belgium
• Magnus Drewelies, CEO & Founder, Ceezer, Germany
• Maksim Karpukhin, CEO, Croproads, Georgia
• Marcel Huber, CEO, SynCraft, Austria
• Marco Ceruti, CEO, Re-Solution, Italy
• Maria Laura Parisi, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Brescia, Italy
• Miniya Chatterji, CEO, Sustain Labs Paris, UAE
• Monica Sanders, CEO & Co-Founder, The Undivided Project, USA
• Natalia Dorfman, CEO & Co-Founder, Kita, UK
• Neirin Jones, CEO & Co-Founder, GreenForest Solutions, Germany
• Nicola Armaroli, Research Director, National Research Council (CNR), Italy
• Peter BenHur Nyeko, Co-Founder & Director, Mandulis Energy, Uganda
• Quentin Bordet, CCO, illuminem and Founder, BCG GoGreen, France
• Ramana Gudipudi, Lecturer, ESMT Berlin, Germany
• Raphaele Leyendecker Fabbri, Managing Director, Techstars, France
• Renat Heuberger, Ex-CEO & Co-Founder, Southpole, Switzerland
• Robert Serec, CEO & Founder, White Hydrogen, Slovenia
• Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalezi, Co-CEO & Co-Founder, Notpla, UK
• Silvio de Girolamo, Founder, SDG for Future Company, Italy
• Sylvain Franc de Ferrière, CEO and Co-Founder, Hero Labs, Netherlands
• Tessa Clarke, CEO & Co-Founder, Olio, UK
• Thomas Christian Melskens, Founder, Yellow3, USA
• Ulrike Pfreundt and Josephine Graf, Co-CEO & Co-Founder, rrreefs, Switzerland
• Vilhelmiina Vulli, Head of Media, illuminem, Finland
Sign this open letter and join our growing global call for climate leadership.
From London to Ljubljana, from Rome to Munich, a growing coalition of sustainability leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, public leaders and citizens from across wider Europe and beyond is uniting behind a powerful message: Europe must not falter in its climate leadership.
At illuminem, one of Europe’s most-read sustainability information and data platforms, we are proud to host this historic open letter. Our message is clear: sustainability is not a burden, but a strategic path forward. Amid escalating geopolitical, social, environmental, and economic risks, bold climate policy is the essential path to resilience and prosperity.
No matter who you are or where you come from, we invite you to sign this open letter and share it with your network to amplify our call. Together, we will personally deliver it to European institutions, Heads of State, and national parliaments.
If you have any questions or feedback, we warmly welcome you to get in touch.
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