PARIS: Only 40 of the world’s 100 largest private companies have set net-zero carbon emission targets to combat climate change, said a report released on Monday.
The report by the group Net Zero Tracker said all companies need to reduce their planet-heating emissions, to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement goals.
The lack of market and reputational pressures on private companies are to be blamed for their slow uptake of climate promises, John Lange of Net Zero Tracker told the media.
The report compared the 200 largest public and private international companies based on their reported emissions reduction strategies and net-zero targets.
It noted that only 40 of the 100 private companies assessed net zero targets, as compared to 70 of 100 publicly listed companies.
Among the private firms that have set targets, just eight have published plans on how they will meet the targets.
Carbon credits allow businesses to lessen their emissions by directing money toward a project that decreases or avoid emissions, such as protecting forests.
None of the eight fossil fuel firms included in the report was found to have a net-zero target.
Several jurisdictions including Britain have adopted climate disclosure regulations. Others have made regulations on the horizon.
The European Union also initiated two climate regulations — the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) — which will require thousands of large firms to report their climate impacts and emissions, and measures to curtail them.
