The world is in a global climate crisis, seeing pressure rising on everyone to do their part to save the planet. Unfortunately, the culprits of most of the harmful emissions seem to always find a way to put the blame on the consumer.
Independent charity-funded think tank Carbon Tracker has published a statement saying there is no way of knowing if money is being put into sustainable activities by large companies. The problem is transparency, these firms do not disclose how they plan on reaching their climate goals.
Study conducted of 107 global businesses, all active in carbon-intensive sectors, researchers have concluded that there is a “glaring absence of climate risks in financial reporting” (BBC, 2021). Over 70% of companies involved did not state their climate impact in their financial statements.
Additionally, the companies also did not show their plans for net zero targets or on how to minimise climate risks. Shockingly, only two out of ten of the studied companies showed any evidence of even assessing their own risk to the environment.
Included in the study were oil and gas firms, construction companies, car manufacturers and aviation businesses. Carbon Tracker worked together with the Climate Accounting Project (CAP) and their statement said the lack of detail in the reporting makes it easier for companies to fail the global emissions targets.
If the companies in these sectors do not have to be transparent about their emissions, how do they feel accountable for their environmental pollution.
“The fact that we don’t have transparency means we have no idea if capital is being allocated to sustainable activities so we can actually transition to a greener future,” says Barbara Davidson, analyst at Carbon Tracker, in a conversation with the BBC.
She continues: “Lacking this information means we don’t know if funds are being allocated to unsustainable businesses, which further reduces out chances to decarbonise in the short time remaining to achieve our Paris goals,” (BBC, 2021).
None of the accounts surveyed reflected any targets set by the international treaty known as the Paris Agreement.
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*Timmins, Beth (16. September 2021). BBC: Carbon emitters ‘failing to disclose climate risks’. Last viewed on 17.09.2021 on https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58589914?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA.
