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A12 SCIENCE
Thursday 10 February 2022

Trees grow on forest land adjacent to Mount Rainier National Park on Monday, Nov. 23, 2015,
near Ashford, Wash.
Associated Press
Report: Corporate climate pledges are

weaker than they seem

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ periods ranging from 2030 companies’ claims” said
AP Business Writer to 2050. Thomas Day of NewCli-
NEW YORK (AP) — Many The authors chose to study mate Institute, one of the
of the world’s largest com- corporate giants, includ- study’s lead authors. “Their
panies are failing to take ing Amazon and Walmart, ambitious-sounding head-
significant enough steps to which made bold cli- line claims all-too-often
meet their pledges to vastly mate pledges and who, lack real substance, which
reduce the impact of their because of their size, are can mislead both consum-
greenhouse gas emissions seen as especially influen- ers and the regulators that
in the decades ahead. tial. In recent years, large are core to guiding their
That’s the conclusion of a corporations have increas- strategic direction. Even
new report by the NewCli- ingly adopted pledges to companies that are doing
mate Institute, an environ- significantly reduce their relatively well exaggerate
mental organization that carbon footprints a prior- their actions.”
works to combat global ity of growing importance Among the 25 companies
warming. Its researchers, to many of their customers, the researchers studied, 24
who examined the actions employees and investors. relied too heavily on car-
of 25 companies, conclud- NewClimate Institute con- bon offsets, which are rife
ed that many of them are cluded that even though with problems, the report
misleading consumers by many companies have said. That’s because car-
using accounting prac- pledged to reach net-ze- bon offsets often rely on
tices that make their envi- ro emissions, the 25 com- carbon removal ventures
ronmental goals relatively panies they studied have such as reforestation proj-
meaningless or are exclud- collectively committed to ects.
ing key parts of their busi- reduce emissions by about These projects suck up car-
nesses in their calculations. 40% not the 100% that bon but are not ideal solu-
The companies have people might be led to be- tions because forests can
pledged to make their lieve from the companies’ be razed or destroyed by
emissions reductions or net-zero or carbon-neutral wildfires, re-releasing car-
to offset their emissions pledges. bon into the air.
through such techniques as “We were frankly surprised The report called Ama-
planting carbon-capturing and disappointed at the zon’s goal of net-zero car-
forests over self-imposed overall integrity of the bon by 2040 unsubstanti-
ated. It said it was unclear
whether Amazon’s goal
referred solely to carbon
dioxide emissions or to all
greenhouse gases. The
report also said it was not
clear to what degree Am-
azon planned to reduce
its own emissions, as op-
posed to buying carbon
offset credits which rely on
nature-based solutions. q