In less than five months, policymakers from around the world will gather in Paris to finalize a new global agreement on combating climate change. Already, many governments are putting forth ambitious emissions reduction goals. And companies are taking action, too, by reducing their own footprints and investing in clean energy.

Reaching a strong deal in Paris is an absolute and urgent necessity. The data is clear and the science is beyond dispute: a warming planet poses enormous threats to society.

Public health experts recently warned that climate change threatens to “undermine the last half century of gains in development and global health,” through forces like extreme weather, drought, malnutrition, and disease. The U.S. government has asserted that climate change poses “immediate risks to U.S. national security,” as increased natural disasters and humanitarian crises fuel instability and violence. And many studies have revealed that critical infrastructure, like electricity and water, is vulnerable to rising sea levels and intensifying storms.

Climate change is one of the most significant global challenges of our time. Rising to that challenge involves a complex mix of policy, technology, and international cooperation. This won’t be easy, but Google is committed to doing its part.

Google has been carbon neutral since 2007. Our data centers, the physical infrastructure behind web services used by billions of people, now get 3.5 times the computing power out of the same amount of electricity, as compared to five years ago. We are also the biggest corporate purchaser of renewable power on the planet. Just today at the White House, we pledged to triple those purchases over the next decade. In addition, we're a major climate-minded investor, so far committing more than $2 billion to clean energy projects, from America’s largest wind farm to Africa’s largest solar power plant.

We're serious about environmental sustainability not because it’s trendy, but because it’s core to our values and also makes good business sense. After all, the cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use in the first place. And in many places clean power is cost-competitive with conventional power.

We’re making progress, but averting catastrophic climate change will require significant investment and bold innovations. Google and our private-sector peers are ready to lead. But something fundamental is required: clear policy. The global business community needs certainty to bring climate solutions to scale. We need the world’s political leaders to confirm that investments in clean energy are sound, and that the laws and policies meant to enable such investment will be designed for the long term and rooted in what science tells us needs to be done.

It’s encouraging to see the world’s major economies set ambitious climate targets, but it’s time to get a strong international climate agreement on the books. This December in Paris, it’s imperative that policymakers reach a deal that moves us toward a zero-carbon economy. That’s the kind of future that we’re committed to helping build, and that future generations deserve.

Posted by Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman

According to NASA, 2014 was the warmest year ever. Yet when Google’s News Lab looked at city-level search trends related to climate change over the past decade, we found that interest around "global warming" was actually higher in 2007 than it is today in many major cities. Google is deeply committed to environmental sustainability and renewable energy, and raising awareness about these issues is part of the solution. That's why, in 2013, we became the internet and technology partner of Solar Impulse, a project aiming at flying around the world on a plane using only solar power, in order to raise awareness for what's possible with clean technology and renewable energy.

On the first day of their round-the-world journey, we jointly launched the #FutureIsClean initiative: a platform to encourage the world to support the adoption of necessary clean technological solutions ahead of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21).
Since Solar Impulse took off from Abu Dhabi in March 2015, it has completed 8 out of 12 legs, completing nearly half of the journey. The most recent leg took 117 hours and 52 minutes, breaking the world record for the longest solo flight. Despite the achievement, the plane's batteries sustained some damage, postponing the second half of their round-the-world solar flight until April 2016. The plane will remain in Hawaii where it landed last.

We're inspired by Solar Impulse's pioneering spirit that has allowed them to push the boundaries of clean and renewable technology, and we look forward to cheering them on next year as they complete their round-the-world trip.

Posted by Ben Quesnel, Brand Partnerships Team