WHAT DO ABBA, top hats and champagne all have in common? For starters, they all made an appearance at
We are currently in the season of annual general meetings. This is the time of the year when company shareholders convene to discuss the state of the business and vote on important questions. Increasingly, these meetings have become the new platform for climate activism.
Similar to the hijinks at the
The demonstrations underscore growing frustration with the lack of action from corporations and their financial backers on the climate crisis. Anger is rising over perceived broken net zero promises as companies struggle to make progress. One particular roadblock for companies has been accurately reporting the full extent of their emissions. Regulators in the
The issue with climate disclosures, especially for Scope 3 emissions, is often not one of willingness but of data availability. Many companies find it enormously difficult to quantify upstream and downstream emissions because it requires getting data from customers and suppliers that is often hard to come by or not there at all.
Investors and banks face similar, if not more challenging, difficulties when calculating their indirect carbon impacts. According to the sustainability charity CDP, the carbon impact of investments from financial institutions averages 700 times larger than their direct footprint. Yet until recently, the tools to measure these "financed emissions" have been non-existent. A new standard called the
Scientists warn that urgent action is needed to address the climate crises. The protestors will get louder as enterprises and financial institutions continue to drag their feet. But, with the coming regulations and new software platforms being able to provide instant, accurate data, we can finally hope for change to be on the way. Till then, expect more off-key ABBA songs by climate activists in top hats at annual shareholder meetings.
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The protestors will get louder as enterprises continue to drag their feet
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