A NEW global business coalition of a diverse range of industries, including from the maritime sector, has been launched in New York to establish a more accurate carbon accounting framework and drive market-based solutions to reduce emissions at the lowest cost.
The initial member companies of the coalition are: ADNOC; Air Liquide; Banco Santander; BASF; Bayer; CF Industries; EQT Corporation; ExxonMobil; EY; Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock; Honeywell; Linde; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; Mitsui & Co.; Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.; NextEra Energy; Nucor; the Port of Rotterdam; and Vale. Additional companies to be announced.
Carbon Measures says its work will leverage sound science and the principles of financial accounting to help enable a ledger-based carbon accounting framework that is substantially more accurate, eliminates double counting and addresses current information gaps.
“By better tracking emissions through the global economy, this new framework will help businesses differentiate their products and governments make more informed policy decisions,” the coalition says.
Carbon Measures is calling for new policy “that unlocks innovation, competition and the power of the market.
“Global carbon emissions are rising and will continue to increase unless effective, efficient and pragmatic policies are implemented. Product-level carbon intensity standards, based on verifiable data informed by an enhanced emissions accounting framework, can create markets in which businesses are rewarded for investing in low-carbon production.
“Carbon Measures will focus on advancing the carbon accounting framework. Additionally, for maximum impact, the coalition will prioritize designing carbon intensity standards for key industrial products – such as electricity, fuel, steel, concrete and chemicals – that form the basis of most supply chains and collectively account for the majority of global emissions."
The former global vice chair, sustainability at Ernst & Young, Amy Brachio, has been appointed as CEO.
"Good data leads to good decisions, but for decades, precise and comparable data has proven something of a holy grail in emissions tracking,” Ms Brachio said. “I've had a front-row seat helping businesses struggle with a system that's been overly reliant on estimates and dependent on voluntary commitments and good intentions to drive market action.
“That simply won’t be sufficient going forward,” she said. “Carbon Measures wants to create a system that will unleash markets and competition, unlocking investment and accelerating the pace of emissions reduction – ultimately driving the kind of enduring change the world demands.”