{"id":1083222,"date":"2023-06-13T11:14:08","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T11:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1665340"},"modified":"2023-06-13T11:14:08","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T11:14:08","slug":"corporate-net-zero-climate-pledges-lack-credibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/06\/13\/corporate-net-zero-climate-pledges-lack-credibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Corporate \u2018net zero\u2019 climate pledges lack credibility"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nearly half the world’s biggest companies have pledged to erase their carbon footprints by around the mid-century. However, only a handful have credible game plans for doing so, according to climate policy research groups.<\/p>\n

Without tangible action from firms, the Net Zero Stocktake 2023 report warned that capping global warming at Paris agreement-aligned levels will likely remain out of reach.<\/p>\n

Net zero pledges<\/h2>\n

Around 1C of warming to date has made extreme weather more destructive and deadly. UN climate experts have said the world could breach the 2015 Paris treaty limit of 1.5C above the preindustrial benchmark within a decade. The treaty set a core goal<\/a> of trying to limit warming to 1.5C. It also seeks to cap it at \u201cwell under\u201d 2C.<\/p>\n

Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have shown that 2C of global warming<\/a> will be catastrophic. The rise will dramatically increase the risk of extreme weather and poverty. Moreover, it threatens to devastate ecosystems, including through habitat loss for species. For instance, 99% of coral reefs, which support around 25% of ocean life, are unlikely to survive 2C of warming<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Agence France-Presse<\/em>, co-author of the Net Zero Stocktake report John Lang – from the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit – said:<\/p>\n

The big question is whether existing net zero targets will acquire the measures of credibility quickly enough to keep the Paris Agreement’s temperature goals within reach.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Taking into account national, regional, and corporate pledges, some 90% of the global economy has climbed on board the ‘net zero’ bandwagon. This is up from 15% four years ago.<\/p>\n

In business, 929 companies on the Forbes 2000 list have set targets to eliminate their emissions by around 2050. This is more than twice as many as in December 2020.<\/p>\n

Most do not meet the minimum requirements<\/h2>\n

However, measuring these CO2-purging pledges against the yardstick of half-a-dozen standards for the assessment of net zero claims shows that almost all fall down badly on the details. Lang said:<\/p>\n

Most entities that have pledged net zero do not meet minimum requirements for what good net zero looks like.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Only 4% of corporate commitments are in line with five “starting line” criteria set out in the UN Race to Zero guidelines, one of the voluntary standards.<\/p>\n

These basic benchmarks include:<\/p>\n