World’s biggest firms failing over net-zero claims, research suggests

theguardian.com:

Some of the world’s biggest businesses are failing to live up toclaims they will hit net-zero emissions targets, according to research that suggests they will cut their carbon emissions by only 40% rather than the 100% cuts claimed.

Household names such as Amazon, Ikea, Nestlé and Unilever are among the companies named as showing little substance to their claims that they will cut emissions drastically.

Thomas Day of NewClimate Institute, who compiled the report, said that taken in aggregate, the efforts of the 25 companies studied would make little impact. “It is not clear these reductions take us beyond business as usual,” he said. “We were very disappointed and surprised at how much room for improvement there was [among the companies studied]. Companies need to be much more transparent about these goals.”

Near-term targets were of particular concern, he added. The report showed that the companies surveyed would only cut their emissions by about 23% on average by 2030, falling far short of the figure of nearly halving in the next decade that scientists say is needed to limit global heating to 1.5C. “It’s short-term action that’s the most important thing, in the climate crisis,” he said.

Many are relying on carbon offsetting for a large portion of their projected cuts. Carbon offsetting is the controversial practice of paying for projects that reduce carbon dioxide – usually by maintaining forests or growing new trees – to compensate for greenhouse gases emitted elsewhere.

Many of the companies studied have made much of their public claims to environmental sustainability. “Some companies I had expected more from, given their very positive perception, such as Ikea, Unilever and Nestlé,” said Day.

The Corporate Climate