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Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Nov. 8 (AP) Oil companies have pledged to reduce emissions to net zero to ensure they have a credible plan, not just Just making false promises urging strict emission reduction standards.
Released at the UN’s flagship climate conference in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the panel has some tough recommendations for businesses, banks and local governments with net-zero commitments to ensure their commitments make sense rather than a “false” guarantee.
They call it a roadmap to prevent net zero from being “undermined by false claims, ambiguity and “greening.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed the panel a year ago at the UN climate summit to draft a new policy aimed at clarifying the confusion caused by the growing number of net-zero claims from businesses and organisations. principles and recommendations. But UN experts and environmental groups say net-zero commitments have little transparency or uniform standards, leading to a surge in claims that are difficult to verify.
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The promise of “fake net zero” to cover up massive fossil fuel expansion is reprehensible. This is hierarchical deception,” Guterres said at the COP27 summit. “This toxic cover-up could push our world towards a climate cliff. The scam must end. “
Since the 2015 Paris Agreement set a global target to limit temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), there has been growing support for the concept of “net zero” — a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and the elimination of the rest emissions – as the main way to achieve this.
“To prevent dishonest climate accounting…we stress the need for non-state actors to publicly report their progress and provide verified information that can be compared with their peers,” said Kathryn McKay, who leads a panel of 17 senior experts. Kenner said on the report.
So-called non-state actors include companies, investors, and local and regional governments, all of which fall outside the scope of the Paris Agreement. The experts said their voluntary carbon reduction pledges must be “ambitious, complete and transparent, credible and fair”.
Among its 10 specific recommendations, companies cannot claim net zero if they continue to invest in or build new fossil fuel supplies, deforestation or other projects that damage the environment. They can’t buy cheap carbon offset credits, “which often lack integrity, rather than immediately reducing their own emissions.”
Guterres said he was deeply concerned about the lack of “standards, regulations and rigour” in the voluntary carbon credit market. Offsets could be problematic because there is no guarantee they will reduce emissions, climate experts say.
Experts say lobbying to undermine ambitious government climate policies won’t do. Companies cannot just focus on the emissions they generate directly from manufacturing, but must include emissions along the way in their sourcing supply chains for components and raw materials.
To keep the planet from warming below 1.5 degrees, the United Nations says carbon dioxide emissions must peak in 2025, cut by nearly half by 2030 and reach net zero by mid-century.
The only way to do this right now is to reduce the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere and balance the remaining emissions by permanently removing them, planting trees, or through technologies that haven’t been tested on a large scale, such as capturing carbon emissions at the source, e.g. factory chimneys and store them underground.
Along the way, net zero has become a corporate buzzword for companies and groups seeking to boost their green credentials, despite concerns from environmental activists that it is turning green.
McDonald’s has opened net-zero restaurants in the US and UK powered by solar panels and wind turbines. Airline group IATA has set a long-term goal for the aviation industry to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Even oil companies have jumped on the bandwagon. Chevron touts its “net-zero emissions” and Shell touts its “net-zero emissions.”
Private equity firm The Carlyle Group, an early adopter of the net-zero pledge, did not include its largest oil and gas investment in its most recent report on financial risk of greenhouse gas emissions.
Organisers of this year’s football World Cup hosted by Qatar say the massive construction of stadiums, highways and subway systems built for the event is carbon neutral – something experts are skeptical about. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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