 |
Dear readers,
Welcome to the Climate Weekly newsletter by the Centre for Science and Environment’s Climate Change programme and Down to Earth.
An assessment of the climate targets put forth by 51 of the world’s largest companies have revealed three things - progress is slow, ambition is inadequate and dependency on unproven solutions is high. For context, these 51 companies emitted 16% of all GHG emissions in 2022 - that’s roughly equivalent to what India, Brazil and Russia together emitted in the same year. Corporations already have the luxury of setting climate targets ‘voluntarily’ – i.e., with few regulations or mandates around the world forcing them to do so. Apart from bad press, there is no consequence if they fail to meet them. That is probably why there have been reports of companies backtracking on announced targets. As if this wasn’t worrying enough, the largest standard setting body - Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) - that validates company climate targets for robustness has announced it will accept the use of carbon offsets for Scope 3 emissions. These emissions emerge from points in the value chain not directly under control of the company, including consumer use. In some sectors, Scope 3 is responsible for nearly 99% of a company’s total emissions. One can imagine then, what a large loophole is presented by the opportunity to simply offset these emissions instead of actually reducing them.
Elsewhere, earlier this week, the Supreme Court of India passed a landmark judgment that the people have a right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change within the ambit of fundamental rights. The judgment came in response to a case regarding the conservation of two critically endangered bird species in Gujarat and Rajasthan - two states with enormous solar and wind energy potential. As Fizza Zaidi of CSE’s Climate Change programme writes, this historic recognition from the apex court paves the way for legal accountability of actions that undermine meeting climate targets. The judgment also highlights the complexity of pitting climate action against biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, two issues that must go hand in hand.
Finally, the course on Environmental and Sustainability Data for Effective Communication in the 21st Century is open for registration.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
By - Tamanna Sengupta
Climate Change, CSE
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| EXTREME WEATHER TRACKER |
| |
Carbon dioxide in 2023 comparable to 4.3 billion years ago as global greenhouse gas levels hit all-time high: NOAA, 08 April 2024
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
CLIMATE NEWS | SCIENCE| IMPACTS| POLITICS |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
