Weak internet zero commitments provide a chance to implement actual local weather motion – what to do with them?
Guest essay by Eric Worrall
According to researchers, companies are wrong if they believe that a little greenwashing can help them escape criticism because weak commitments are an opportunity to attack the company’s credibility.
Net zero: Despite the greenwash, this is vital to tackling climate change
May 11, 2021, 1:14 p.m. AEST
Richard Black Honorary Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute, Imperial College London
Steve Smith Executive Director, Oxford Net Zero, Oxford University
Thomas Hale Associate Professor of Public Order at Oxford University
It may seem strange to find climate change advocates debating the merits of an approach that science has shown to be essential to mitigating climate change and that is accordingly at the heart of the defining global agreement.
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In some cases, concerns about the implementation of net zero targets turn into criticism of the concept itself. Recently, three climate change scientists, including former IPCC Chairman Bob Watson, referred to Net Zero as a “fantasy” and a “trap,” while Greta Thunberg said that “these distant goals” are about “making it appear that we are acting without having to change”.
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The rapidly growing line of net-zero commitments contains a coherent theory of change. First, if a company is serious, it will deliver on its promise by taking robust action, starting with immediate measures to reduce emissions. If not, the company in question is quickly exposed to allegations that it is not serious.
Second, pledging a target means that the company can be held accountable by voters, shareholders, or customers. Third, it may need to seek accreditation from an impartial mechanism such as the Science-Based Objective Initiative to demonstrate the credibility of verifying that its plan is realistic.
Fourth, such accreditation mechanisms evolve over time in order to keep up with science. For example, the United Nations-backed Race to Zero recently released updated criteria (which we were a part of). More annual reinforcements are waiting for you.
Each of these four steps makes the engagement more concrete – and if it’s not serious, it becomes clear.
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Read more: https://theconversation.com/net-zero-despite-the-greenwash-its-vital-for-tackling-climate-change-160329
This time I agree with the climate activists.
Greenwashing or token green gestures may have worked in the days when activists were kids painting flowers on their hippie vans, but these days some of these activists run big companies.
But giving in to giving greens everything they want isn’t an option either – real Carbon Net Zero would be incredibly expensive.
I suspect anyone who tries to appease carbon in the current political environment will quickly find that they have fallen into a trap. There are no easy solutions.
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