Following a period of distance from the Paris Agreement under its previous presidential regime, the United States has returned to the forefront of the battle to combat climate change.
Joe Biden’s summit, last week, coincided with Earth Day and he had warm words and collaborative statements at the ready for other world leaders; even Russian president Vladimir Putin, who he had an unseemly spat with last month. In his address to the conference President Biden reserved special praise for the Russian leader, praising his call for climate cooperation and bringing to the table the idea of carbon capture from space. He said: “This is a moment for all of us to build better economies for our children. Nations that invest in a greener economy will reap rewards for their citizens.”
The President has previously said: “When I hear the word climate change, I hear the word jobs.” He passionately believes that investing in green measures and industries can create millions of jobs worldwide.
How times have changed since the former US President signalled his intentions, back in 2017, to pull out of the Paris agreement. Joe Biden rejoined the agreement on his first day back in office and is now leading the charge.
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, signalled an intention for his country to stop burning coal within five years, while former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, said that companies need to provide financial disclosures on climate risks, so that investors can direct funds to the greener players.
Here in the UK the drive to be the first major economy in the world to have Climate-Related Financial Disclosures mandatory is gathering pace. Companies will have to disclose the risks they face, with associated data, as soon as 2022, and the new rules will also affect a company’s supply chain. Improving our sustainability credentials is a shared responsibility, and companies which can collect real energy consumption data from its supply chain can help partners to manage their consumption more effectively.
Here at Enerlytic, work is nearing completion on our Carbon Report which is designed to support clients with the upcoming mandatory carbon reporting requirements; and it will also help you to disclose the accurate and meaningful data required by the new legislation.
The battle to combat climate change is gaining momentum again and, with the support of the US once again at the forefront, the next big date is 1st November, when the UK hosts the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties in Glasgow. The summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, and the British representatives will have much to say about progress towards our targets. In 2019 the UK was the first major economy in the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050.
At Enerlytic we aim to be a hard working cog in the green machine and look forward to working with UK businesses in this shared goal.
