A “high-level expert group” United Nations panel has drafted guidelines at the Cop27 to avoid greenwashing since, as the former Canadian climate minister Catherine McKenna said: “Right now, the planet cannot afford delays, excuses, or more greenwashing”.
The group includes the Australian climate scientist Bill Hare, who warned that there is “no time left for disingenuous corporate behaviour.”
Red lines have been drawn by the group of experts, and those seek to end of false data about CO2 emissions and other polluting activities. Numerous big corporates and banks have joined the “sustainability” movement for the good press that brings them but not because of an actual commitment to the planet. This group of experts aims to end that.
Transparency is the key
Big corporates and mainstream banks that have declared their net-zero emissions often don’t present transparent data to back up such affirmations. That’s why, from now on, it won’t be enough to announce a better isolation of the offices or a change to renewal energies, for example, if in the other hand, fossil fuels are being financed by that same company or bank.
Transparency mechanisms are at the spotlight after these declarations, since the panel demanded consistent and verifiable reports that back up their claims and prevent false information.
The goal is to sniff out “dishonest climate accounting and other actions designed to circumvent the need for deep decarbonisation”, the group said.
“This is about cutting emissions, not corners,” said McKenna. “The planet cannot afford delays, excuses, or more greenwashing”.
The panel also affirmed “there is no room for new investment in fossil-fuel supply and there is a need to decommission and cancel existing assets”.
“If industry, financial institutions, cities and regions mean what they say in their net zero pledges, they will adopt these recommendations,” panel member Bill Hare, a climate scientist and chief executive of Climate Analytics, said “If fossil fuel companies think that they can expand production under a net zero target, they need to think again.”
Good news for FEBEA
From Febea we can only be happy about this declarations. Our organization has define itself as transparent and coherent with the planet since its creation. Institutions and countries committing to the vigilance of big corporates’ emissions to avoid green and social washing is a really big step in the path of creating a new economy.
As it’s dictated in our sustainability chart, “the approach to sustainable finance should not be limited to the specific financial product, but instead it should apply to all the activities proposed by a banking group”. One sustainable product is not enough, the corporate itself should be sustainable overall.
