A new survey carried out by Conservation International and We Mean Business Coalition and released on Thursday, has shown that many business leaders now see long term-decarbonisation as a priority (92%) and believe the responsible use of carbon credits is important to reducing emissions (89%).
Opinions were gathered on corporate climate action from business managers engaged in sustainability from over 500 global organisations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
The survey reveals 92% of respondents believe reducing carbon emissions is an urgent priority for their organisations, 79% agree that science-based targets are critical for keeping companies on track, and all the respondents have or are already working towards climate targets.
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However, the survey also indicates that businesses still face challenges in meeting their decarbonisation targets even with them using all tools available to cut emissions and help keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C.
A vast majority (86%) shared that they see budget constraints, a lack of consistency and collaboration across their organisation, and technological constraints (84%) as major barriers to reducing emissions and meeting targets.
Again, 51% of respondents agreed that carbon credits will enable them to address climate impacts this decade while they also work to directly reduce emissions in the long term and 89% agreed that carbon credits are important either to compensate for emissions that organisations are not yet able to eliminate or to balance out residual emissions.
The survey further shows that while companies view carbon credits as a critical component of climate action and pointed to a desire to scale action, they also expressed concerns over credible and responsible engagement.
With over a third (38%) of respondents actively investing in the voluntary carbon market, and over half (51%) considering it as a viable option for meeting climate targets, businesses cite fears over greenwashing (44%), challenges in evaluating carbon credit quality (33%), and lack of regulation and transparency (38%) as main barriers to increasing investment in the voluntary carbon market.
Overall, the report shows that business leaders seek to accelerate action during this climate-critical decade and do so responsibly, despite the recognized challenges of long-term decarbonisation. Though businesses also almost unanimously agree that carbon credits are a valuable tool to accelerate immediate climate action, concerns persist.
As initiatives continue to advance, businesses are expressing an eager desire to contribute to solving the climate crisis within their means, recognising the benefits of their contributions both to their organisations and to the world.
Story was adapted from Environnewsnigeria.
