Survey: 80% of business leaders say more regulation is needed to reach net zero.

The survey was commissioned by Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and was conducted among CEOs and other senior leaders in the UK, Germany, USA, Brazil, Japan, India and South Africa. I was. All the companies represented had more than 250 of his employees, half of which he had more than 1,000.

About 7 in 10 of the leading companies have set a net-zero goal backed by a plan to reach it. Eight out of 10 of those surveyed say government policies are necessary for national and global efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Across all regions, 70% of survey respondents say regulation is important for businesses to meet their climate commitments. This sentiment is particularly strong in the UK, where more than 80% of survey respondents say government policy and regulation are needed, especially in terms of achieving a fast and just energy transition. Less than half of the UK-based professionals surveyed believe business alone can bring about the necessary change, regardless of the policy or regulatory environment.

Access to finance has turned out to be a key concern for UK-based businesses. Nearly half (48%) say they have not yet made the investments necessary to reach their net-zero goals. 43% said they were somewhat uncertain about the potential funding options open to them. This suggests that government incentive schemes are probably difficult to navigate and that the UK can do more to get its financial system running.

CISL says the UK needs to invest £40bn a year in infrastructure and £33bn a year elsewhere to meet its 6th carbon budget. There was already a funding shortfall here, but the organization fears it may have escalated amid the Covid-19 pandemic. According to CISL, the UK’s economic recovery package allocates only 17% of funds to low-carbon measures, compared to only 30% in the EU.

Beverly Cornaby, Head of Policy at Corporate Leaders Group UK (CLG UK), said the findings are a sign that UK Plc has asked new Prime Minister Liz Truss to respond to the climate crisis, energy price crisis and level up.

She added: The study shows how UK businesses can see the potential benefits of a stronger and more directed regulatory environment to facilitate the economy-wide and individual business response to the climate crisis. I’m here. ”

Earlier this week, 116 businesses and financial institutions signed an open letter to Truss, urging the government to ensure that it develops and implements a “strong” net-zero plan that also contributes to social and economic improvement. The net zero strategy created under her predecessor Boris Johnson was ruled illegal earlier this year. and many are concerned about her plans to expand fossil fuels as part of this approach.

This letter was coordinated by CLG UK. Its signatories collectively represent his £1.8 trillion market capitalization and his staff of over 425,000.

A world off track

In related news, this week PwC released the latest edition of its Net Zero Economy Index, which tracks decarbonization rates globally and by country.

The alarming conclusion is that no G20 country is decarbonizing rapidly enough to reach net zero by mid-century along the 1.5°C temperature pathway. This is the more ambitious of his two temperature pathways for the Paris Agreement.

PwC says that reaching 1.5C will require a 15.2% annual reduction in global emissions through 2050. That’s 11 times faster than his global average from 2000 to 2021.

Looking specifically at 2021, the fastest year-on-year G20 decarbonisation was South Africa, which registered a 4.6% decline.

Of particular concern is the fact that several G20 members have increased their emissions and carbon intensity and their emissions have “rebounded” after lockdowns. This cohort includes the United States, India, Japan, Germany and France.

PwC offers recommendations to turn this trend around, stating: Rising energy prices and threats to supply are driving a surge in demand for fossil fuels in the short term. However, in the long term, it strengthens its argument for investing in renewable energy capacity. ”

It should be noted that the fossil fuel “rush” is mostly about coal as the wholesale price of gas remains high.

The statement added: Businesses are looking at ways to use energy more effectively while consuming less, indicating that it could be a tipping point in how we think about energy. ”

Earlier this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said swift action to improve energy efficiency could significantly reduce annual global emissions by 2030, reaching net zero by 2050. said it would achieve one-third of the reductions needed to