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☆ Opinion | To Fight Climate Change, We Need New ‘Political Technologies’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Science alone won’t stop the planet from overheating. But science coupled with political science just might. That’s the theme of a new book, “Long Problems: Climate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time.” It’s by Thomas Hale, an American political scientist who teaches at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. Hale argues that people are too quick to throw up their hands because the political will to stop climate change is lacking. He calls them, at one point, “political technologies,” a phrase I like.

Persons: “, It’s, Thomas Hale, Hale, ” Hale Organizations: University of Oxford’s Blavatnik, of Government Locations: American

Some 75 of the world's largest 112 fossil fuel companies have now committed to reaching net-zero - the point at which greenhouse gas emissions are negated by deep cuts in output elsewhere and methods to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. But most targets do not fully cover or lack transparency on Scope 3 emissions — which include the use of a company's products, the biggest source of emissions for fossil fuel companies — or don't include short-term reduction plans, the report added. The report also found that none of the fossil fuel companies were making the needed commitments to move away from fossil fuel extraction or production. As it stands, some 4,000 countries, states, regions, cities and companies globally have now committed to net-zero. A study published last week in the journal Science found that about 90% of countries' net-zero targets were unlikely to be achieved.

Persons: Thomas Hale, Daisy Streatfield, Gloria Dickie, Simon Jessop, Jan Harvey Organizations: Climate Intelligence Unit, University of Oxford, Science, Thomson Locations: Britain, London

☆ UN experts at COP27: Corporate climate pledges rife with greenwashing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and others attend the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 7, 2022. At last year's climate negotiations in Glasgow, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed 17 experts to review the integrity of non-state net zero commitments amid concerns about "a surplus of confusion and deficit of credibility" involving corporate green boasting. "Bogus net zero claims drive up the cost that ultimately everyone will pay," she said. An estimated 80% of global emissions are now covered by pledges that commit to reaching net zero emissions. For example, a company cannot claim to be net zero if it continues to build or invest in new fossil fuel infrastructure or deforestation.

A smoke billowing from a chimney is pictured, as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) takes place, in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 6, 2021. Just 32 of the 100 biggest private firms have set a target to reach net-zero carbon emissions, compared with 69 of the 100 largest public companies, the study showed. In high-emitting sectors such as energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, only 14% of the private firms' annual combined revenue is covered by such a target compared with 77% of revenues from listed firms in the same sector. “Private firms are falling devastatingly short on net zero compared with their publicly-listed cousins," said John Lang, project lead of the Net Zero Tracker. As listed companies increasingly face mandatory climate-related disclosures, Thomas Hale, professor at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government, said there was a risk private firms escaped scrutiny and gained an unfair advantage.

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