Climate Change News: Multinational Companies Sign UN Emissions Pledge Ahead Of Climate Summit

Almost 90 multinational companies have signed onto a United Nations climate pledge that would limit their business activities to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees centigrade. Companies include Swedish furniture manufacturer Ikea and French care products company L'Oreal, among others.

"Now we need many more companies to join the movement, sending a clear signal that markets are shifting," said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

L'Oreal, along with Swiss food company Nestle and building materials firm Saint-Gobain, have pledged to even cut their global emissions to zero by 2050.

A coalition of advocacy groups formed in June called "We Mean Business" has been pushing more multinational companies to sign on to the UN pledge prior to a UN climate summit on Monday.

On Friday, environmental activists around the world took part in a Fridays For The Future Climate Strike, a movement which was founded by Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg. Some 5,000 events took place in 156 countries, with young people calling on politicians and businesses to do more to tackle the climate change threat.

One major company that has been pressured to do more on climate change has been e-commerce company Amazon. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled a climate change plan on Thursday that would require the company to use 80% renewable energy by 2024.

Amazon's ultimate goal is to bring itself to zero emissions by 2030.

Bezos says that he wants the company to "lead the way" on climate change and that "if we can do this, anyone can do this."

The 2016 Paris climate change agreement was seen as a major achievement to tackle climate change and reduce global emissions. President Trump in June 2017 announced the U.S. would withdraw from the accord.