76. The Role of Private Sector in Climate Change Initiatives

You can deny climate change. The world is moving towards a catastrophic change. The good news is the world has started acting. Better late than never, as they say. And it’s not just individuals that are acting, even big corporates are seen to lead the cause. And why not? It is imperative that every company in every sector must step up and reduce their emissions. In doing so, they are not only acting as vanguards in the fight against climate change but are all testimony to the fact that climate change and business can go hand in hand.

Today, almost all big corporates have started measuring their carbon footprint. Most of these measurements are conducted by a third party audit to maintain credibility and transparency. Many of the companies have also developed a climate action change that aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, companies have also started setting emissions-reducing targets. This includes setting quantitative and time-sensitive emissions reduction targets. Above all, big corporate houses have started supporting climate-smart politics, worldwide.

A list of 285 companies have committed to cutting 265 million tonnes of emissions under the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi). These include multinational firms including McDonald’s, Microsoft, Nestle, Nike. SBTi aims to mobilize companies to boost their competitive advantage in transitioning to a low carbon reality. The project also plans to invest around 18 billion dollars on climate change mitigations, including investments in annual renewable energy. In another instance, over 150 companies have joined RE100, committing to going 100% renewable. In fact, consumers across the world want to show support to companies working for a meaningful cause.

Thus we see, that the momentum for climate change actions have grown, and there is pressure on the top management of the top companies. Government action on climate change is indeed indispensable and world governments should take aggressive climate policies, but we will be to bring about a change only if governments work with corporations across industries throughout the whole economy.

Source: NASA Climate Change