The world will still miss its net zero goals despite progress on decarbonisation since the Paris Agreement, according to a new report – Destination Net Zero – from Accenture.
The Paris Agreement that was ratified in 2016 said global greenhouse gas emissions must peak no later than 2025, fall 43% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
The Accenture report laid out the progress of the 2,000 largest global companies by revenue on setting targets for net zero and the concrete steps that they have taken.
Nearly three quarters, 70%, of the 2,000 companies in the sample reported sufficient emissions data for Accenture to analyse.
“Differences across and within industries aside, the overall trend is that companies are not acting fast enough or boldly enough to limit the most severe impacts of the climate crisis,” said Accenture.
Just over one third or 37% of companies are committed to achieving net zero emissions. However, amongst the companies disclosing emissions data since 2016, only 18% are on track to reach net zero by 2050.
One third or 33% are cutting emissions but too slowly, and half continue to increase their emissions. For example, the rapid advances in technology mean that the median software and platforms company has increased operational emissions by 15% annually since 2016, resulting in their carbon footprint doubling every five years.
Accenture said: “If organisations everywhere dramatically accelerate their net zero transitions and move from simply setting targets to delivering emissions reductions the world can get on track.”
A large majority of the 2,000 companies are switching to renewables, implementing energy efficiency, reducing waste and adopting circular principles.
However, in order to reach the targets businesses must not only decarbonise their own organisations, but also their suppliers and customers across the whole value chain.
“Value chains must be reinvented to reach net zero, with technology playing a central role in this transformation,” said Accenture.
It added, “The upside is this will create tremendous growth opportunities along the way through new sustainable products, services, and markets.”
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