Schneider Electric Joins Climate Leadership Council in Support of Carbon Dividends Plan

ANDOVER, Mass., June 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, today announced its participation in the Climate Leadership Council as a founding member, to support a new market-based climate solution that is both pro-growth and pro-environment.

Launched in February 2017, the Climate Leadership Council is an international policy institute—founded in collaboration with business, opinion and environmental leaders—specifically to promote a carbon dividends framework as an effective, equitable and politically viable climate solution. Schneider Electric joins a broad coalition of top companies and NGOs, including 11 of the largest companies in the world, as well as former U.S. Secretaries of State, Treasury and Energy, to advance a consensus climate solution that bridges partisan divides, strengthens our economy and protects the world's shared environment.

"There are no borders to carbon. We joined the Climate Leadership Council because it is our corporate duty to fight climate change triggered by carbon emissions," said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Schneider Electric. "We believe this means embarking on aggressive initiatives, cutting our emissions in half by 2050 by being more energy efficient, and driving digitization to help us achieve this goal."

The carbon dividends plan is based on four interdependent pillars that are mutually reinforcing:

• A gradually rising and revenue-neutral carbon tax;
• Monthly carbon dividend payments to all Americans, funded by 100 percent of the revenue;
• The rollback of carbon regulations that are no longer necessary; and
• Border carbon adjustments to level the playing field and promote American competitiveness.

The carbon tax provides a market-based mechanism to drive emission reductions and encourage innovation and promote competitiveness.  At the same time, the dividend ensures the plan is beneficial for working Americans.  In fact, according to the Department of Treasury, the bottom 70 percent of households, which represent 223 million Americans, would benefit financially under this plan, receiving more in dividends than the increased energy costs they face. If approved, the Council expects the plan would help America meet its commitment under the Paris Climate Agreement.

"These measures, coupled with innovation through connected devices, big data, analytics, and digital services are driving real change. As companies push toward digital transformation, they can realize quantifiable energy savings and cut carbon emissions while increasing operational productivity," closed Tricoire. "If businesses, countries and cities adopt these smart and connected technologies, we can achieve the needed efficiency gains to win our climate change fight. We must act now for a better future."

Other Corporate and NGO Founding Members of the Council include: BP, ExxonMobil, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Royal Dutch Shell, Santander Bank, Total, Unilever, Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy. The Founding Members will work closely with the Council to develop and promote the carbon dividends plan to usher in a winning combination of increased economic growth, competitiveness, sustainability and security.

For more information, please visit the Climate Leadership Council's website at www.clcouncil.org.

About Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is the global specialist in energy management and automation. With revenues of $26 billion US dollars (25 billion euros) in FY2016, our 144,000+ employees serve customers in over 100 countries, helping them to manage their energy and process in ways that are safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable. From the simplest of switches to complex operational systems, our technology, software and services improve the way our customers manage and automate their operations. Our connected technologies reshape industries, transform cities and enrich lives. At Schneider Electric, we call this Life Is On.

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SOURCE Schneider Electric

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