14 June 2021
•
3 min read
Gov.uk
COP26 President tells CBI climate summit that UK businesses should pledge to deliver net zero emissions, decarbonise their fleets and power supplies, and work to establish deforestation-free supply chains
COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma has called on business leaders to accelerate climate action ahead of the vital UN climate talks this autumn, urging firms to make net zero pledges that can reduce both their carbon emissions and risk profiles as the economy decarbonises over the coming years.
In a speech delivered to a virtual conference staged by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) this morning, the Minister urged businesses to join the UN-backed Race to Zero campaign, which brings together companies and public-sector organisations that have committed to achieving net zero emissions by mid-century at the latest and have established science-based interim emissions targets to reach the goal.
Sharma also urged business leaders to switch to clean power, swap from fossil fuel vehicles to zero emission alternatives, commit to eliminating deforestation from their supply chains, and make the adoption of net zero targets a condition for key suppliers.
"Race to Zero commits you to reach net zero by 2050 at the latest, and to short term targets, based on the science, to get there," Sharma said. "This is not only good for the planet, it is good for your bottom line. The direction of travel is clear: the world is going green, creating enormous opportunities for those on the front foot."
Sharma's appeal comes just a few months after a number of the UK's leading green business groups - including the CBI, the Corporate Leaders Group, the UK Business Council for Sustainable Development, and the Aldersgate Group - launched a new coalition designed to encourage more UK firms to establish climate goals and join the UN-backed Race to Zero campaign. In April, CDP confirmed that more than 100 businesses in the UK have now signed up to Race to Zero through the SBTi Business Ambition for 1.5 campaign, one of the many corporate climate networks that 'feeds into' the UN initiative.
Sharma emphasised that companies that did not embrace the net zero transition were jeopardising their future profitability.
"Those that do not move fast enough will be left behind," he said. "Analysis suggests that, together, 215 of the world's biggest companies have almost $1tr at risk from climate impacts. Yet, those same companies have the potential to gain double that amount from the move to green economies."
The UK will not be able to meet its goal of reducing its emissions by 78 per cent on 1990 levels by 2035 without the support of the private sector, Sharma emphasised. "To tackle the climate crisis, and reach net zero, we need the innovation, the influence and the energy of the private sector on our side," he said. "And the task, friends, could not be more urgent."
Sharma's speech comes less than six months before the UK is set to host the vital COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow this autumn and just a day after the G7 Summit in Cornwall ended with a new commitment from G7 leaders to phase out coal financing and accelerate decarbonisation efforts globally. However, the final G7 communique sparked fierce criticism from green groups, who warned the world's richest economies were undermining the chances of a succesful outcome at the COP26 Summit by failing to come forward with new climate funding commitments to help poorer nations decarbonise.
