Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 16 2022

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

Asia’s corporate giants

failing on emissions

ASIA ASIA’S corporate giants are failing to set emis- How companies in Asia Pacific are prepar-
sions reductions targets, running the risk of ing for the net-zero economy, also found that
missing their own climate commitments and only 5% of the electricity consumed by the top
putting net zero by 2050 in danger. 100 energy consumers in Asia is sourced from
Research from Asia-focused think tank CDP renewables.
found that in 2021, only 8% of the region’s com- Put simply, the report warned that there
panies had a target in place to cut emissions to remains a significant ambition gap in meeting
net-zero by 2050, in line with the recommenda- the Paris Agreement goals in Asia despite com-
tions of the Paris climate accord. panies showing increased commitment towards
The think tank found that 3,879 companies emissions reduction and transparent environ-
from 21 markets in the Asia Pacific region, rep- mental action in 2021.
resenting 14% of global market capitalization,
had disclosed their climate commitments to Rapid shift needed
CDP, and two-thirds of them had pledged to This ambition gap comes after the IPCC in April
reduce emissions. However, only 291 compa- warned that the shift away from fossil fuels must
nies, or 8%, had set concrete targets. be rapid, and that A substantial reduction in fos-
Meanwhile, less than one-third of APAC com- sil fuel use coupled with electrification through
panies reporting to CDP have science-based renewable energy is needed to halve emissions
targets. These targets provide a clearly-defined by 2030.
pathway for companies to cut emissions, and in Limiting warming of around 1.5°C (2.7°F)
turn global warming, to a level deemed safe by requires global greenhouse gas (GHG) emis-
climate scientists. sions to peak before 2025 at the latest, continued
The report, called Rising to the Challenge: the report, and be reduced by 43% by 2030.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 16 20•April•2022