麻豆无码版

***聽Please note: This article is part of the聽麻豆无码版 focus on company climate claims.听
This dossier聽lists聽our existing publications and future content plans, and our upcoming events are聽here.
This blog聽explains why we decided to launch the project.***

The 鈥渘et zero鈥� climate targets of 24 of the world鈥檚 largest companies, which are responsible for around four percent of global emissions, fall far behind their promises, according to an analysis of the companies鈥� plans for reducing their climate impact. Rather than cutting emissions to almost zero by their target year, the climate strategies amount to reducing the companies鈥� entire CO2聽output by little more than a third, according to the聽聽by the NewClimate Institute and NGO Carbon Market Watch.

鈥淭aken together, the net zero pledges of the 24 corporations amount to a measly 36 percent by mid-century,鈥� said the authors of the report, which focuses on companies which claim to be climate leaders through their association with the UN-backed聽.

In response to growing pressure on companies to act on the climate, the number of companies coming out with 鈥渘et zero鈥� climate targets has grown rapidly. But criticism of these targets, which suggest a move towards zero impact on the climate, has聽also risen聽in a void of regulatory oversight which makes it very complicated to聽differentiate between real climate action and 鈥済reenwashing鈥�.

Majority of climate strategies have 鈥渓ow鈥� or 鈥渧ery low鈥� integrity

The report concluded that the climate targets of 15 of the 24 companies had a 鈥渓ow鈥� or 鈥渧ery low鈥� integrity, and that eight companies had climate targets with a 鈥渕oderate鈥� integrity. Danish shipping company Maersk鈥檚 climate strategy was the only one rated as heaving a 鈥渞easonable鈥� integrity, while not a single company climate plan achieved a 鈥渉igh鈥� integrity rating. The authors noted a 鈥済eneral lack of progress鈥� since the first iteration of the report was published a year ago.

The authors were particularly damning of the over-reliance by almost all companies surveyed on controversial carbon offsetting schemes to compensate continued emissions, and called for a strict focus on emission reductions instead. The authors estimated that, on average, the companies were planning to offset almost half of their total carbon footprint to claim 鈥渃arbon neutrality鈥� in the future. They also criticised that companies were planning to hide their use of offsetting under the guise of new terminologies, such as 鈥渋nsetting鈥�.

The report called for a ban on misleading climate claims because they constituted consumer deception. 鈥淚t is really unrealistic to expect consumers to understand those claims, even though many of those communications are directly targeted at consumers,鈥� said policy expert Gilles Dufrasne from Carbon Market Watch.

厂别惫别谤补濒听surveys have shown聽that consumers don鈥檛 understand what 鈥渃limate neutral鈥� claims mean. Some company climate targets sound very similar at outset, but are profoundly different on closer analysis, the authors said. [This factsheet聽summarises the report鈥檚 methodology for analysing net zero targets]

鈥淪purious 鈥榥et zero鈥� and 鈥榗arbon neutrality鈥� claims are incredibly damaging,鈥� Dufrasne said. 鈥淭hey give the illusion that corporations are taking serious action to tackle the climate crisis when, in reality, they are sweeping the problem under the carpet and leaving it to others and future generations to clean up their mess.鈥�

Distant net zero targets a 鈥渄istraction鈥�

The report argues that the companies鈥� distant 鈥渘et zero鈥� targets distract from the urgent need to cut emissions this decade. 鈥淚n aggregate, the companies covered by our in-depth assessment commit to reduce just 15 percent of their full value chain emissions by 2030, or up to 21 percent under the most optimistic interpretation of their pledges,鈥� the authors said. 鈥淭his goes less than halfway to the 43 percent reduction in greenhouse gases we need to deliver at the global level to limit temperature rise to around 1.5掳C.鈥�

The lack of clear regulatory oversight means that 鈥渞eal climate leaders are struggling to distinguish themselves from those making much more modest commitments,鈥� according to the authors.听Just five of the companies under review 鈥� H&M Group, Holcim, Stellantis, Maersk, and Thyssenkrupp 鈥� commit to reducing their emissions by at least around 90 percent by their respective net-zero target years, the report found.听But these companies are put on the same pedestal as others 鈥� including American Airlines, Carrefour, Deutsche Post DHL, Fast Retailing (Uniqlo), Inditex (Zara), Nestl茅, PepsiCo, Volkswagen and Walmart 鈥� which make similar claims [鈥�] that actually amount to very limited levels of emission reduction commitments.鈥�

The report also highlighted some examples of climate leadership. 鈥淭hese include, for instance, Maersk, which invests in alternative fuels and vessels; Google, which is pioneering 24/7 monitoring and matching renewable energy generation with consumption; Deutsche Post DHL, which invests in electrifying its fleet and scaling-up the production of low-carbon fuels for road, ocean and air transport; and Apple, which is taking measures to make high quality renewable energy procurement options more accessible for their suppliers, as well as implementing measures to extend the lifetimes of devices.鈥�