Businesses Finally Think Big About Cutting Emissions
The private sector now has the scientific framework to help prevent warming beyond 2 degrees Celsius.
Turning to science to set emissions targets.
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty ImagesAmazon.com Inc.’s recent announcement that its operations will be carbon neutral by 2040 stands out for its sheer size. But Amazon is only one among dozens of companies that announced new carbon-intensity benchmarks ahead of this week’s United Nations General Assembly.
It’s hardly a new phenomenon. Eighty-one percent of S&P 500 companies had set emissions-reduction or energy-use targets by at least four years ago. But many of these amounted to business as usual; the goals were set according to existing regulations, or emission-abatement projects already underway. Today’s targets are more ambitious, because they’re based on science.