Large companies, cut the carbon intensity by 10% per year or we crank out Paris

The MSCI ratio estimates the carbon intensity reduction curve aligned with 1.5°C

(Rinnovabili.it) – Publicly traded companies must cut their carbon intensity by 10% each year until 2050 if they are to meet the more ambitious Paris agreement target. An ambitious target that finds most companies unprepared. Only 4 out of 10, in 2019 and 2020, have reduced enough emissive intensity to meet the roadmap.

This is revealed by the latest update of MSCI’s Net Zero Tracker, the climate performance monitoring of the world’s leading listed companies prepared by the US financial services provider. Which brings another alarming figure: the absolute emissions of these companies, without inversions, are on the trajectory to increase by 0.7% in 2022. Although the total value remains lower than that reached in the pre-pandemic period of 5.6%.

This year, the companies analyzed by MSCI should therefore release into the atmosphere about 10.8 Gt of CO2 only with their direct emissions (Scope 1). Since the signing of the agreement in Paris, they have already issued 67.8 Gt, with the budget of carbon that remains before exceeding the threshold of 1.5 degrees that is now 51.2 Gt of carbon dioxide (the one for the 2-seater C instead is set at 223 Gt).

This confirms the expected numbers already in June. In the previous report update, MSCI estimated that at present 2,900 companies had only 57 months – just under 5 years – before exceeding 1.5 degrees. With a slight improvement, even if only 3 months. Only 11 out of 100, then, have set climate targets compatible with this target.
Current rhythms are on a very distant trajectory from Paris. Without intervention, MSCI calculates, the world these companies are taking us to is almost 3 ºC warmer in 2100.