Sustainability of Carbon Neutrality

Carbon neutrality has become the impact assessment project of human impact on the earth, increasingly structured to examine the implications for the environment and people, of proposed actions and consequences of inaction.

International and local collaboration efforts have been made with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality emissions. Thus policies and technological innovations have been developed. More than 20% of the world’s largest corporations have set a 2050 target of going ‘net zero’ offsetting the carbon pollution they produce by removing an equal amount from the atmosphere.

Consider that just 100 companies are responsible for more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. Achieving carbon neutrality has become an important goal that is pursued by various organizations across the world, with the ultimate aim of measuring and controlling direct and indirect emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses (GHG), such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).

All Talk?

Sustainability-related loquacity has come with a slew of commitments from the corporate world to reduce its environmental impact over the last 18 months, such as cutting emissions and going net zero. This is being driven by rising consumer expectations and sustainability-led regulatory and policy changes in certain industries.

A coalition of global banks committed themselves to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and adopting interim targets much sooner forming the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) in April. It is designed to use the power of the financial sector to meet international goals to reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement.

Among North American firms, the sectors that mention sustainability the most are oil and gas, power, mining, and food services. In Europe, financial services, oil and gas, power, construction, and automotive companies talk about the biggest sustainability game, according to Global Data’s study. These sectors are under considerable pressure to reduce their environmental footprint.

Engagement towards the Carbon Neutralisation

In 2020, China and the European Union (EU), two of the world’s top emitters, pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 and 2060, respectively by invoking policies to move the economy towards sustainability. Japan also has made a similar pledge for the date of 2050.

The major economies of the United Kingdom and France have targets cemented in law, whilst the European Union, Canada, South Korea, and Spain are some of the major countries with proposed legislation. A larger bunch of countries have made carbon neutrality pledges yet have not put anything into law. This is where the USA makes the list, along with other heavyweights like Germany and Japan.

Major companies such as Apple, Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, BP, Ford, General Motors, and FedEx have also pledged to become carbon neutral. Companies’ disclosures of their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions also highlight the vital role of companies in mitigating the effects of global warming, which requires cost-effective and verifiable accounting for emissions.

These carbon neutrality pledges made by major political and economic entities demonstrate the widespread commitment to galvanize action on the climate crisis. Since the pathways used to achieve carbon neutrality require a viable socio-technical transition from industrial processes based on petroleum, coal, and gasoline towards a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future.

Companies with Carbon neutrality Targets

Google is a great example for other companies. It reached carbon neutrality carbon emissions in 2007, and last year announced that it had offset all of the carbon dioxide it had ever produced. Even more importantly, they are not stopping there. Google announced it will source all of its energy from clean energy sources by 2025.

It has increased energy efficiency, which has effectively limited its growing energy demands. Compared with five years ago, Google now produces close to seven times more computing power with the same amount of electricity. Google has been both actively procuring and buying power from renewable energy assets.

A bunch of renewable energy deals announced in 2019 came online in 2020.  These spanned four continents and included the following:

1. Google’s first offshore wind project came online in the North Sea. It is providing power to one of their major data centres in Belgium.

2. In Chile, Google started to purchase power from a new solar farm to meet their growing demands in South America.

3. Google began harnessing energy from solar panels distributed across hundreds of public buildings throughout Singapore.

4. In the U.S., large-scale solar and wind projects have been tapped into as major energy providers for their remote offices and data centres.

Amazon is also joining the party. They recently signed a massive PPA with Light source BP in Ohio for their 375 MW solar farm. Expanding beyond the U.S. they have also announced nine new utility-scale solar and wind energy projects in Canada, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Amazon said it aims to power 100% of its activities with renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of its original goal of 2030, and be net-zero by 2040. Amazon has invested in several wind farms across the United States.

Companies like Apple are even going a step further. Not only looking at their own company but considering the whole supply chain. Apple announced a target of becoming carbon neutral across its entire business and supply chain by 2030. This announcement is a great example for others to follow.  About 75-90% of carbon emissions come from business supply chains. Buyers can force companies along their whole chain to become green.

Conclusion

The multidisciplinary nature of carbon neutrality goes beyond science and technology and involves issues such as policies, investment, communication, behaviour change and adaption, and international relations. This will help to stimulate clean energy transition throughout the region, helping nations create and meet their own carbon neutrality goals.