Climate change: More Chinese and Asian firms disclose greenhouse-gas emissions, but lag in reduction commitments, data quality
- Just 39 of the 100 largest listed Chinese companies disclosed 2020 financial-year carbon emissions, but this is up from three in 2015
- Emissions by Asia-Pacific companies fell just 1 per cent, compared to 11 per cent in North America, 14 per cent in Europe and 47 per cent in Latin America
More companies in China and Asia are making disclosures about their carbon footprints compared to five years ago, but the quality of the data they are providing, not to mention firm commitments to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, are lacking, according to data compilers.
Too few of the region’s companies – among the planet’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters – have begun to reduce their emissions, let alone made firm commitments to drive them to zero. Moreover, even among those who have disclosed data, claimed reductions in emissions trail well behind counterparts elsewhere in the world.
This means extra corporate effort is needed to catch up with global ambition to contain global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and avert disastrous climate-change consequences.
“The rule of thumb is that you need to reduce emissions by half this decade, or roughly 7 per cent annually from this year,” said Daniel Klier, the CEO of corporate sustainability data provider ESG Book. “We are not seeing that happening.”
Some 39 per cent of the 100 biggest listed Chinese companies by market capitalisation have disclosed 2020 financial-year carbon emissions from fossil-fuel combustion at their own facilities, as well as emissions attributed to their energy suppliers, according to ESG Book’s data. This is compared with 3 per cent in 2015.