Just 1 in 4 of world's biggest firms set to meet climate targets: Study
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
LONDON • Fewer than one in four of the world's largest companies is on track to meet basic climate change targets, according to a new study published yesterday.
The findings of the survey of nearly 700 listed companies in 14 countries from 2015 to 2019 were unveiled on the day US President Joe Biden launched a virtual climate summit.
According to British investment firm Arabesque, just under a quarter (24.84 per cent) of the world's large listed companies have taken action to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C.
European companies are the best performers, particularly in Sweden (50 per cent), Germany (39.29 per cent) and Finland (33.33 per cent). France is just behind (32.5 per cent), followed by Britain and the United States (both with 23.08 per cent).
China (8.51 per cent) and Australia (4.55 per cent) trail behind. But the study found that 15 per cent of the companies listed on leading indices including the FTSE 100, S&P 100, DAX and Nikkei do not publish their greenhouse gas emissions.
The 2015 Paris Agreement seeks to limit global warming at 2 deg C above pre-industrial levels and, if possible, no more than 1.5 deg C. The 1.5 deg C target is proving difficult to achieve, but 70 per cent of firms are expected to meet the 2 deg C figure by 2030.
Mr Biden invited 40 world leaders to a virtual Earth Day summit, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
European lawmakers in Brussels on Wednesday reached a last-minute agreement with members states on aiming for a net reduction of "at least 55 per cent" of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday vowed to cut carbon emissions by an ambitious 78 per cent by 2035 compared with 1990 levels, 15 years earlier than once planned.
London's environmental efforts are under particular scrutiny, given that it will host the next United Nations climate conference, COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
