Executives representing 78 companies worth north of $2 trillion are pressing leaders of the Group of 7 major economies to work with the private sector on bold actions to address climate change.

Driving the news: They issued an open letter to G7 leaders just ahead of their meeting in the U.K. that begins this week, and they published it as a full-page ad in today’s Financial Times.

Why it matters: The corporate effort provides private sector cover that may make it easier for world leaders to take potentially costly steps to reduce emissions.

It’s organized via the Alliance for CEO Climate Leaders, a program hosted by the World Economic Forum.

State of play: The letter is signed by the CEOs of Allianz, Biogen, Boston Consulting Group, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, ING, Salesforce, PepsiCo and Unilever, among many others.

The big picture: The CEOs call for G7 leaders to commit to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and getting to net zero by 2050.

• They call on countries to ensure that developed nations “meet and exceed” their $100 billion commitment to helping developing nations cut their emissions and adapt to global warming.
• The letter warns of massive economic losses to come from failing to address climate change, versus gains from transitioning to a more sustainable economy.

What we’re watching: Other private-sector efforts to press G7 leaders at the summit and ahead of the big United Nations climate conference.

“Investors managing more than $41 trillion in assets are loudly calling on world leaders to immediately step up their climate game if they don’t want to miss out on a wave of clean energy investment,” CNN reports.