News & Views

With the window to avoid irreversible climate impacts rapidly closing, immediate and ambitious action is now needed to limit warming to 1.5°C.

Systems Change Lab's "State of Climate Action 2023" recent report provides the world's most comprehensive roadmap of how to close the gap in climate action across sectors to address this anticipated warming. See the Systems Change Lab website HERE and the report HERE. 

More and more consumers are looking to purchase products that have less impact on the environment, and since 2007, Carbon Trust have been providing 'footprint labels' with over 27,000 labelled and verifiable products. In order to provide greater transparency and clarity, the format of the label is now changing to allow consumers to see the carbon footprint of the product, as well as allowing the manufacturer to display their credentials.

Not in Australia yet, however the scheme allows consumers to choose products offered by brands committed to taking action to reduce their impact. See the Carbon Trust story HERE.

Net Zero Tracker (NZT) have recently assessed their 1,000th company and have found that 66% of the annual revenue of the world’s largest 2000 companies is now covered by a net zero target. This means that the number of company net zero targets (in the UK) has risen by more than 40% in 16 months — from 702 in June 2022 to 1,003 in October 2023.

John Lang, Project lead for net Zero Tracker said "now we can say for certain that most of the world’s largest companies have shifted to the right side of the line on net zero intent." See their release HERE.

"Broken Record", is the UN Environment Programme's 2023 Emissions Gap Report and it finds that as greenhouse gas emissions hit new highs, temperature records tumble and climate impacts intensify, the world is heading for a temperature rise far above the Paris Agreement goals. The report is the 14th edition in a series that brings together many of the world’s top climate scientists to look at future trends in greenhouse gas emissions and provide potential solutions to the challenge of global warming. See the report HERE, or a quick YouTube video HERE.

COP28 is being held in Dubai in November/December this year and attracts upwards of 20,000 people. We have all heard about 'COP' conferences, but this explainer from Joel Makower of GreenBiz, tell us what the conferences are all about and may help decide if you want to go. Even if you're not a Cop.

See his explainer from GreenBuzz HERE.

The We Mean Business Coalition has launched a new global campaign urging businesses and governments to take bold action in eliminating fossil fuels while accelerating the adoption of clean energy solutions.  Read the press release HERE

Businesses purchasing voluntary carbon are more likely to report lower gross emissions year-on-year, and invest more in emissions reductions, than companies not engaged in carbon markets. Read the Article from Ecosystem Marketplace HERE 

In an article by James Murray from BusinessGreen, he notes that in the last year, the number of companies publicly disclosing environmental data has increased by 24 percent, with over 23,000 listed companies worldwide publicly reporting on their environmental performance. The reporting entity, CDP, notes that it is becoming more essential for business to measure and manage their impacts, and public disclosure about performance is key to this being successful. Read the article HERE

At the UN Climate Ambition Summit held last month, a collaborative model for investment to assist with climate change adaptation was announced between Australia and Tuvalu. As part of the Secretary-General’s Adaptation Pipeline Accelerator program, this exemplifies the “first movers and doers” that the Secretary-General has called for in delivering climate justice. See the press release HERE

The 2023 Status report from TCFD (The Taskforce for Climate Related Financial Disclosures) shows that the percentage of public companies disclosing TCFD-aligned information continues to grow, but more progress is needed. For fiscal year 2022 reporting, 58% of companies disclosed in line with at least five of the 11 recommended disclosures — up from 18% in 2020; however, only 4% disclosed in line with all 11. See the report HERE