Companies to deliver on COP agreement

This is a decisive moment for climate action - a turning point in the battle to stop the advance of global temperatures. What governments agree, companies must now deliver - it will be up to businesses to deliver the change needed to avert the worst effects of climate change.

More companies and financial institutions than ever must set science-based targets aligned with net-zero, joining the more than 4,000 companies worldwide who have already done so. If companies are working to their 1.5°C targets, they are doing their part - all others must join them, whatever the final agreement of COP28 may be. 1.5°C is the biggest increase that we can allow in global temperatures to avoid climate breakdown.

1.5°C is the floor of ambition for companies, not the ceiling: companies with validated 1.5°C targets have set the highest level of ambition for them to decarbonize in line with the Paris Agreement. If they can, they should go further.

To do their part companies must set science-based targets if they have not yet done so. They can multiply this impact by taking action to decarbonize supply chains. We are asking companies to set supplier engagement targets and get their suppliers committed to setting science-based targets within the next year.

Supply chain emissions represent the largest source of emissions from companies - they are 11.4 times larger than direct emissions on average according to CDP. Scope 3 is seen by companies as the hardest part of their footprint to tackle, but it is also where they can make the greatest impact.

By having science-based targets, companies share common frameworks for decarbonization - a common language and scientifically-validated rate of reduction. Many companies all working together at the same time with the same aim can create the seismic change required to avoid the worst effects of climate change.