Setting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in line with climate science is a great way to future-proof growth
The Science Based Targets initiative mobilises companies to set science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and boost their competitive advantage in the transition to the low-carbon economy. The initiative is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. The initiative defines and promotes the best practices in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assesses and approves companies’ targets.
Targets adopted by companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered “science-based” if they are in line with the latest climate science, which is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. SBTs provide companies a clearly defined pathway to future-proof growth by specifying how much and how quickly they need to reduce their GHG emissions.
The Paris agreement in 2015 saw 195 of the world’s governments commit to prevent dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees celsius. This signaled an acceleration in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Companies play a pivotal role in ensuring that global temperature goals are met. Many companies are already demonstrating that they have the skills, expertise, and ingenuity to make this a reality – but need ambitious emissions reduction targets that ensure the transformational action they take is aligned with current climate science.
WWF-India and CDP India collaborated to launch the Science-Based Targets initiative Incubator, and provide secretariat and technical support to Indian companies for developing SBTs, to help accelerate their transition to a low-carbon economy. The incubator aims at facilitating the reduction of GHG emissions through the uptake of SBTs in the long-term and set corporates on the path of climate science-based emission reduction targets. WWF-India and CDP India will support Indian businesses to sign up for SBTi, work with companies in developing their SBTs, and getting them validated from the SBT secretariat.
WWF-India has launched a series of webinars under the SBTi Incubator that focus on the innovative approaches and business practices for setting ambitious and meaningful GHG reduction targets, in line with the latest climate science.
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