From Aspiration to Action: Credible Corporate Climate Leadership and the Net-Zero Imperative

Global Future Council on the Net-Zero Transition releases two White Papers on the eve of Stockholm+50

As many in the environmental community gear up for the UN high-level meeting Stockholm+50 on 2-3 June, which will mark fifty years since the UN's first environmental conference, the Global Future Council on the Net-Zero Transition is releasing two White Papers examining how industry can be at the forefront of building a low-carbon future.

The first paper on Corporate Accountability recognises that a growing number of companies are making climate pledges but notes that these are still insufficient to bend the global emissions curve to limit warming to no more than 1.5°C. The paper highlights that:

– Two-thirds of companies with a potential “high impact” on climate mitigation have still not committed to setting science-based targets.

– Of those that do have such targets in place, more than a quarter had not publicly disclosed any progress towards achieving their targets.

– Fewer than one in five Fortune 500 companies’ climate goals cover indirect value-chain emissions, which often comprise the largest portion of their total carbon footprint.

Recognizing that ambitious goals require ambitious action, the paper calls on corporations not to delay action until every piece of the decarbonization puzzle is in place – but rather put in place investments and strategies to transition to a low-carbon future now. The paper highlights the steps every firm can take today to reduce its carbon footprint and advance the energy transition.

Read the second paper here →