Embedding climate in everything we do, post-COP26
COP26 in Glasgow has put climate at the absolute centre of the national and global consciousness and hard news. This is progress. We have listened in more to those at the sharp end of the climate emergency - islands like Tonga and Barbados. The urgency to act on climate change is no longer debated, and businesses and governments are moving from why to how.
Keeping 1.5 Alive:
We can credibly say we are now closer to 1.5°C than we were pre-COP. We saw massive mobilisation in Glasgow. Ambitious businesses and governments are moving on and used COP26 to get agreements backed by finance. Forward-looking businesses will continue to step in – raising ambition while calling for more government action. These businesses have a no-excuses mentality. They are collaborating outside their own boardrooms to be part of the climate solution. Their teams are purpose driven, enabled and incentivised to act in their company and across their entire value chains.
Top 5 breakthroughs from the Glasgow Pact:
Action in the real economy: The first public–private collaboration at COP: Unprecedented engagement in the private sector – commitments were announced over the two weeks in areas ranging from finance, energy, water, deforestation and land use to mobility, adaptation and cities. As part of the Race to Zero campaign, nearly 8,000 businesses, regions and financial institutions have committed to halving emissions by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050. There was an historic announcement to confine coal to the history books by phasing down coal and removing fossil fuel subsidies.
Sector breakthroughs: Forty two countries supported the launch of the Glasgow Breakthroughs to make clean technologies and sustainable solutions affordable and accessible in high-emitting sectors (power, road transport, steel and hydrogen) globally before 2030. This is a catalyst for ambitious companies to cooperate, with customers, suppliers, investors and governments, to set out the roadmaps that will deliver the deep emissions reductions needed in the 2030s and 2040s. This will enable sector transformation beyond national borders.
Climate finance: Increased transparency and accountability: Mainstream finance backed net zero for economic growth with the launch of the Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net Zero, assembling 450 institutions managing US$130 trillion in assets. A robust carbon market established under Article 6 will offset the risk of greenwashing with rigour and scrutiny to trading offsets, reducing the risk of double-counting. The launch of the International Sustainability Standards Board is big news and will drive greater coherence in climate disclosure and reporting. By 2023, many companies will be forced to report on their CO2 emissions targets and reduction pathways. This will allow for direct peer-to-peer competitor and in-industry comparisons. Companies ahead in terms of their plans will be viewed positively by the market.
Scrutiny is here to stay: As we match up sustainable finance, corporate governance and reporting in one big picture, to achieve transparency for all stakeholders, including investors, employees and consumers, we will all be better informed on climate performance. The word is that the boardroom and the street have never been more closely aligned on urgent, just and decisive climate action. At COP in Egypt in under a year, we will expect even greater ambition and results, and this knowledge will further empower stakeholder decision-making.
Nature: Much clearer linking between the climate and ecological collapse. More than 100 world leaders promised to end and reverse deforestation by 2030. Brazil was among the signatories. The pledge includes almost £14 billion of public and private funds. The inclusion of biodiversity and the real value of ecosystems was central to COP26 and our future.
We have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go. We need to follow the science and get better data so we can truly understand where we are and how we are closing the gap in the next few years. We are still seeing incremental mobilisation and what we now need is systems transformation and delivery at pace and scale, which requires even greater collaboration and orchestration across stakeholders and geographies
What’s next:
COP26 was never about solving climate change. But this COP could be the ‘beginning of the end of climate change’. I think the deal and the fact that next year’s plans will be republished with more ambitious targets for 2030 can be seen as both a ‘ratcheting up and accountability mechanism’. The UK still holds the COP presidency for the next 12 months, and will hand it over to Egypt in November 2022. As the world turns its attention away from COP26, we need to stay focused on delivery and progress – the real legacy of Glasgow.
How can you be part of the solution?
Make an action plan and deliver on it: Measure and show impact against bold, science-based net zero targets.
Help prepare for the transition: Manage the opportunities and risks – build resilience to risks in supply chains and reputational damage. CEOs are skilling up on climate – it is part of the job. To be a communications partner and engage employees, communication professionals will need to do the same.
Transparency and accountability are the only answers to scrutiny. We need to compare progress and stop the blah blah blah with detailed facts and figures. At the global stocktake, businesses will need to come with results. This will help to rebuild trust and get closer to employees and consumers.
Listen to and include the climate-vulnerable groups: Look at how business can support the just transition to engage workers and build jobs where there is displacement.
This is messy: Stick with the programme. “Achieving net zero is going to raise challenges for companies, but inaction will also come with a significant cost,” says Mary Schapiro, head of the secretariat of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). “It’s going to require that every aspect of the business is on a path to transition. That may mean that some currently profitable products or services have to be phased out or eliminated.” Read more in the Bumpy Road to Net Zero. https://www.ft.com/content/ae2aefe9-ac59-4d3e-a446-5134e42dd059
Find an ally: Bring stakeholders together – the kind of systems change we need to solve the climate emergency will require radical collaboration. We have heard from competitors working together to keep 1.5 alive. This is about delivery and unification of stakeholders. Communication sits at the core of this.
Claire Barraclough is a specialist in sustainability and corporate communications.