Why the Whole Net Zero Paradigm Needs to be Made Mandatory
Overview
We speak with a lot of corporates of various sizes. Some have signed up to SBTi, others have done so but have later pulled out. Others still who have never heard of it. Some have net-zero targets, others don’t . But almost uniformly there are blank looks should I mention ICVCM or VCMI. They simply appear not to matter to them.
Most have net-zero targets or other environmental commitments proudly posted on their website. Some have retired credits, others “plan to”. In short, it is proper mixed bag. There is a real disconnect between climate science, international organisations, national governments, the carbon market community (for want of a better phrase) , and the corporates we are meant to serve (or sadly, in some cases, simply rip-off).
For those who have posted commitments, I always ask “Are your net-zero targets just for show? When are you going to start offsetting your unabated emissions?”. Clearly I have not got around to reading Dale Carnegie’s 1936 book ‘How to Make Friends and Influence People’, or maybe times have just changed. The response I most often get back is a panicked:
• “Yes it’s genuine, but we have yet to start”.
• “So when will you?”
• “When we are made to!”
The UK has Net Zero targets set into law. As 50% of all UK business emissions come from SMEs, there is no way to get there without UK SMEs getting there in concert. I am sure that companies’ bold targets are set more often than not with sincerity, but sadly, whether it be governments or corporates making commitments, they are most often set without a plan. Telling corporates that abating and offsetting is the right thing to do, despite it being true and an improvement in brand reputation being possible etc, it is a hard sell given the hit to the bottom line of retiring credits.
How many of us would pay taxes if we didn’t have to? I know I wouldn’t (I would tell myself I would do it later of course), so why should we expect corporates to reduce emissions and offset on a voluntary basis? Now then boys and girls, how many of us who ventured to New York Climate Week, to slap each other on the back and make high fives, have offset their travel emissions? I know, I know, everyone plans to, they have just not got around to it.The whole Net Zero paradigm needs to be made mandatory, I see no other way to marry commitments and climate action.
The work we did as part of the IPCC was there to prove the science and describe the problem, but it is up to law setters to make people do something about it.
The UK has Net Zero targets set into law.
As 50% of all UK business emissions come from SMEs, there is no way to get there without UK SMEs getting there in concert. I am sure that companies’ bold targets are set more often than not with sincerity, but sadly, whether it be governments or corporates making commitments, they are most often set without a plan.
Telling corporates that abating and offsetting is the right thing to do, despite it being true and an improvement in brand reputation being possible etc, it is a hard sell given the hit to the bottom line of retiring credits. How many of us would pay taxes if we didn’t have to? I know I wouldn’t (I would tell myself I would do it later of course), so why should we expect corporates to reduce emissions and offset on a voluntary basis? Now then boys and girls, how many of us who ventured to New York Climate Week, to slap each other on the back and make high fives, have offset their travel emissions? I know, I know, everyone plans to, they have just not got around to it.
The whole Net Zero paradigm needs to be made mandatory, I see no other way to marry commitments and climate action.