Computer maker HP Inc, consumer goods business Procter & Gamble Co and coffee capsule company Nestle Nespresso SA have joined a corporate pledge to sharply cut their greenhouse gas emissions over nearly two decades.
The Climate Pledge, a grouping of companies and organizations spearheaded by Amazon.com Inc, said on Monday that it has signed up 86 new members for its voluntary measures.
The group has 201 members with global annual revenues of more than US$1.8 trillion, it said.
Photo: AFP
Other new members include telecom BT PLC, Asos PLC, Salesforce.com Inc, truck maker Scania AB and the Selfridges department store chain.
Together, the companies aim to cut almost 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2040 — more than 5 percent of the current global total.
The announcement on Monday comes as world leaders gather in New York for the UN General Assembly, where climate change is expected to be a top priority and a final high-profile chance for leaders to commit to more ambitious plans ahead of November’s major climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
While the group’s members are encouraged to eliminate as many emissions as possible, those that cannot be avoided need to be completely offset in the next two decades. That means paying for measures to ensure as many emissions are absorbed by then as the companies continue to emit.
Scientists say the world needs to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 if it wants to meet the Paris climate accord’s goal of keeping temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C by the end of the century compared with pre-industrial times.
Kat Kramer, head of climate policy at the anti-poverty campaign group Christian Aid, welcomed the decision by big players in the private sector to aim for net-zero emissions.
However, she urged the focus to be on cutting as many emissions as possible in the coming decade, rather than focus on unproven technology to remove the carbon once it is in the atmosphere.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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