People – the untapped climate asset, 512 billion hours lost and small islands bearing the brunt
In this issue:
People - the untapped asset
Many organisations maintain their employees are their greatest asset and yet new research from Globescan suggests this asset may be untapped when it comes to sustainability and net zero actions. In a survey of over 8,500 people from companies with at least 1,000 employees across 31 countries, Globescan found 88% of respondents believed individual motivation and loyalty increased as companies increased their social and environmental performance, yet 74% said their companies’ actions didn’t match their rhetoric, meaning they are missing out on all those potential motivational benefits. Europe leads the way for companies matching words with actions.
US$39bn of damage to small island states over 20 years
That’s the conclusion of analysis from the Resilient and Sustainable Island Initiative (RESI). RESI reckons the cost of indirect economic loss of damage in small island developing states (SIDS) totalled US$107bn (NZ$178bn) between 2000 and 2022, US$39bn (NZ$65bn) of which can be attributed to climate change. It goes on to say that under a 2C scenario, the total attributable loss by 2030 could reach US$75.2bn (NZ$125bn).
The US election
We all know the result of the race for the Presidency by now but the US elections this week did also carry some notable wins for the climate as several states voted in favour of measures that will help curb temperature increases. For example, California passed Proposition 4, which will provide US$10bn (NZ$16.6bn) to support a range of projects, Washington (state) rejected attempts to repeal its Climate Commitment Act and Minnesota voted to renew its Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund for another 25 years. In several states, elections also saw successes for climate conscious politicians over sceptical rivals. The sentiment among many commentators is now that it will be down to the states and corporations to maintain net zero momentum, as it was during Trump’s first presidency.
Business travel progress stalls
That’s the finding of research from the GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) Sustainability Acceleration Challenge. The analysis covered 241 companies that collectively spend around US$14bn a year on business travel. Scoring companies on a scale of 0 (no action) to 5 (best practice), the average was found to be a lowly 1.5. Only 7% of companies have an internal carbon price for travel, with an average price of US$50 per tonne – the IMF has suggested $75 per tonne is needed to meet 2030 goals – and only 14% have set a carbon budget for business travel.
Large cities under threat
The latest Net Zero Atlas, produced by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), has revealed half the world’s largest cities are at high risk of at least one climate hazard by 2050 under its predicted 2.6C scenario, an increase from one in five today. The cities covered in the analysis account for around 20% of global GDP and are the homes to 440 million people.
Businesses blaming policy makers
Bain and Company, in association with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, has just released a report indicating businesses seem to be deflecting their lack of decarbonisation investment onto authorities. While 91% indicated they see the transition to net zero as an investment opportunity and 90% claim they are ready to invest, two-thirds said slow changes to legislation and regulation mean there is still not a strong enough investment case to implement low-carbon technologies. The same proportion also said slow infrastructure build was causing investment delays. The 250 survey participants work for companies in sectors responsible for 70% of global emissions.
Feeling tired?
The annual Lancet publication on the state of the world’s climate and health always throws up some interesting – and concerning – statistics. The headlines this year include that 512 billion (a record) labour hours were lost and we each lost an average 6% of sleep hours because of high temperatures. Heat related deaths among the over 65s also hit a new peak and were 167% higher than the 1990s.