- Guidelines announced on second full day of COP27 summit in Egypt
According to Nikkei Asia article published on November 8, 2022, the United Nations on Tuesday unveiled a set of standards to help assess whether claims companies make about their environmental credentials are genuine or simply "greenwashing."
The announcement on the second full day of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt comes as businesses around the world face mounting pressure from environmentalists, consumers and investors to operate responsibly and beef up efforts against climate change.
A group of 17 U.N. experts led by former Canadian environment minister Catherine McKenna drew up the guidelines to help stakeholders and observers scrutinize companies and other nonstate entities that have pledged to work toward net-zero carbon emissions. The standards cover everything from how companies invest in energy sources to the way they use carbon credits.
"Right now, the planet cannot afford delays, excuses or more greenwashing," McKenna said in a statement. Used increasingly over the last few years, the term "greenwashing" refers to organizations that present an environmentally responsible public image even if that jars with their actual operations.
Businesses currently make climate pledges voluntarily and are not held accountable for them in the same way as governments, which are tied to their promises under the governance of the U.N. and other international organizations.
One of the group's 10 recommendations says a company should not claim to be working toward "net-zero" if it invests in new fossil fuel resources, deforestation or other environmentally destructive activities.
"If fossil fuel companies think that they can expand production under a net-zero target, they need to think again," said Bill Hare, CEO of nonprofit Climate Analytics and a member of the U.N. group.
According to the standards, companies and other nonstate actors also should not use certain kinds of carbon credits without first reducing their own emissions across their entire operations, including supply chains. Neither should they lobby to undermine ambitious government climate policies.
The group also called for speedy and rigorous regulation of the now-voluntary commitments around net-zero pledges and transition plans, including mandatory annual progress reporting, starting with "high-impact corporate emitters, including private and state-owned enterprises and financial institutions."
It added that international standards would "avoid fragmentation that can slow the transitionensure a level playing field."
Kahori Miyake, a member of the U.N. group and manager of environmental, social and corporate governance at Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank said the guidelines would be crucial to companies in her country and beyond. Despite a "rapid increase" in the number of Japanese businesses pledging net-zero by 2050, "the lack of clear definition and criteria on net-zero and credible climate action."
Sophie Marjanac, a lawyer leading climate accountability at nonprofit ClientEarth said: "Many corporations are saying, we want to be net-zero in 2050 ... but they're leaving the hard work until the late 2040s, we're not seeing a trajectory to net-zero that is credible."
The world's biggest summit on climate change kicked off in Egypt on Sunday, with thousands of delegates from around the globe looking to tackle a range of pressing environmental issues following a year of heat waves, droughts, typhoons and flooding.
Warning that humanity is on a "highway to climate hell," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday pleaded with the world to act before it is too late.
