Analysis has shown that the carbon dioxide emissions of 30% of the UK’s biggest public companies will have a severe impact on the environment.
Thirty-one companies listed in the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 are not cutting their carbon emissions enough despite pledges to become greener. This means that their carbon dioxide levels are in line with global increases of more than 2.7C by 2050, contrary to the upper limit of 2C outlined in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
As a result, were these companies to not make any changes, they would contribute largely to pushing the world’s temperature to dangerous levels within the next few decades.
Whilst oil and mining companies are the worst offenders, supermarket chain Morrisons and retail business Next have also been singled out.
The Paris Climate Agreement aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Experts believe this is the only way to limit global temperature rises to 2C or ideally 1.5C; any higher and this could be hugely detrimental for both the environment and human life.
According to National Geographic, the failure to meet the targets outlined in this agreement will lead to catastrophic weather events that will harm health, livelihoods, and biodiversity, and which would ultimately cost the world a minimum of $2 billion per day in economic losses.
However, it isn’t all bad news. 27 of the FTSE 100 companies have already managed to reduce their emissions, keeping with the 2C or lower guidance. All of those contacted for statements claimed they were working to reduce their carbon emissions, with many committing to set science-based targets based on United Nations benchmarks in order to make impactful changes.
Georg Kell, the chair of Arabesque (who carried out the report), is also optimistic. Kell told the Guardian that “momentum has turned decisively in favour of decarbonisation in recent years” and hopes that the UN’s climate conference in November will push companies to decarbonise faster.
This news comes as a paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change shows that the fall in emissions due to Covid-19 must continue in order to protect the planet. Whilst some countries had already begun to reduce their emissions prior to the pandemic, both reports suggest that these efforts must intensify in order to bring about real change.
The data highlights that whilst the impact of climate change tends to focus on the individual, the impact of large businesses is of a greater detriment to the planet and must be investigated further.
Eleanor Shearwood
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