Forty-one companies have joined the Science-Based Targets initiative since the COP21 climate negotiations in December. On the eve of the Climate Action Summit in Washington, D.C. last week, the initiative announced that a total of 155 companies have now committed to set emissions reduction targets in-line with the global effort to keep warming well below 2 degrees Celsius.
Forty-one companies have joined the Science-Based Targets initiative since the COP21 climate negotiations in December. On the eve of the Climate Action Summit in Washington, D.C. last week, the initiative announced that a total of 155 companies have now committed to set emissions reduction targets in-line with the global effort to keep warming well below 2 degrees Celsius.
The 41 new signatories include Ben & Jerry’s, SunPower Corporation, Owens Corning, Toyota Motor Corporation, and large European retailer Metro AG.
The Science-Based Targets initiative, which is a partnership between CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), exceeded its goal to recruit 100 companies to make commitments by the end of 2015. 114 participants signed on before the COP21 negotiations concluded, including Ben & Jerry’s’ parent company Unilever.
Forty-five companies have targets currently under review, and the remaining companies are in the process of developing targets.
“The enthusiasm companies have shown to setting ambitious climate targets is very encouraging,” said Cynthia Cummis from WRI.
“Our technical reviewers cannot keep up with the number of targets being submitted. This is a great problem to have and a clear indication that the Paris Agreement was a turning point for climate action.”
The participating companies are headquartered in 27 countries around the world, including 77 in Europe, 34 in the Asia Pacific region, 25 in the United States and 9 in Canada.
Published May 9, 2016 4pm EDT / 1pm PDT / 9pm BST / 10pm CEST