"More Difficult Than Expected" Companies Struggling to Implement Climate Change Measures

Withdrawal from short-term carbon emission targets
Governments including the UK retreat policies due to current issues
"Climate change has opened the door to hell"

Global companies have introduced climate change measures in recent years, but it has been revealed that they are facing various difficulties during the implementation process. The slow pace of technological advancements such as renewable energy makes adoption challenging, and the higher-than-expected costs have made it difficult to carry out related investments amid increased sensitivity to profits.

Since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, the world, which ambitiously tried to implement climate change measures, is now facing issues such as rising inflation, deteriorating profits, and the Ukraine war, deepening concerns in the process of pursuing their goals.

[Image source= Xinhua News Agency]

"Hard to Secure Renewable Energy" Companies Postpone Plans

On the 22nd (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, "Companies that previously promised to respond to climate change are postponing their efforts," adding, "They are realizing that reducing carbon emissions is not as easy as promised."

According to the report, mining giant Rio Tinto recently stated during its earnings announcement that it would be difficult to meet its carbon emission reduction targets by 2025 without carbon offsets obtained through activities such as reforestation. The company explained that achieving the target requires securing sufficient renewable energy, which is difficult to obtain.

Jacob Stausholm, CEO of Rio Tinto, pointed out the lack of deployment of clean energy and low-carbon equipment. Two years ago, he said, "We have a clear path to decarbonize our industry," but recently, during a conference call, he appealed that "the Western world is not moving quickly."

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

The aviation industry, including Delta Air Lines, has been responding to climate change by purchasing carbon credits since 2020, but last year, it planned to reduce these purchases and expand spending on sustainable aviation fuels in the future. While efforts to secure renewable energy are underway in the business sector, it is expected that it will take some time before it can be universally secured.

Amazon, the world's largest online shopping company, withdrew its plan in May to make half of its delivery volume carbon dioxide emissions 'zero' by 2030. This was four years after the plan was first announced in 2019. Although it did not revise its goal to make all delivery-related carbon emissions zero by 2040, it added that it would not announce short-term targets.

G?nter Thallinger, director at Allianz, evaluated, "Most companies thought decarbonization would be easy at the start, but they are realizing that executing the transformation is quite difficult."

UN: Actual Carbon Emission Reduction Rate Likely Only 3.6%

These concerns are not limited to companies. Governments that first establish related policies have also been found not to be implementing climate change measures as planned. The international community promised through the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit the Earth's surface temperature increase to at least below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels and to strive to keep it below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The United Nations (UN) forecasted in a climate change report earlier this month that to achieve the 2015 agreement's goals, carbon emissions in 2030 must be reduced by about 43% compared to 2019. However, as of September last year, an examination of each country's carbon policies suggests the actual reduction rate will be only 3.6%. The UN emphasized, "Action and support are needed so that countries can implement greenhouse gas reduction measures and set more ambitious targets."

[Image source= Xinhua News Agency]

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation has risen in major countries such as the United States and Europe, and due to the aftermath of the Ukraine war, energy price burdens have increased in Europe. Additionally, political controversies surrounding ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management and investment, mainly in the U.S., have led to a decrease in related investments. These practical factors are seen as hindering long-term climate change response goals.

In fact, the United Kingdom, one of the Group of Seven (G7) countries, announced on the 20th that it would slow down climate change measures considering households burdened by rising energy costs and inflation. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak postponed the ban on new internal combustion engine vehicle sales from 2030 to 2035 and relaxed plans to phase out gas boilers in homes, stating that he would not force a transition to heat pumps.

In response, Ant?nio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, warned at the Climate Ambition Summit, a side event of the 78th UN General Assembly high-level week, "We must hurry to make up for the time wasted due to interests and greed surrounding fossil fuels," and described the risks of climate change as "humanity opening the door to hell."

This week in New York City, protests against fossil fuels were held during 'Climate Week.' Thousands of protesters gathered in Manhattan called on U.S. President Joe Biden and world leaders to stop using fossil fuels, shouting, "Declare a climate emergency."

The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is scheduled to be held in November. WSJ predicts that at this meeting, there will likely be conflicts between wealthy countries and developing nations over how to keep the Earth's surface temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius as stipulated in the Paris Agreement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.