Green, empty promises? The truth behind corporate climate pledges by Jocelyn Timperle

Green, empty promises? The truth behind corporate climate pledges

by Jocelyn Timperley

Mon 26 Jul 2021 08.00 BST

Courtesy of Guardian News & Media Ltd

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/26/climate-crisis-green-light

(...)

A subsequent Guardian investigation in 2019 found 20 fossil fuel companies, including Chevron and ExxonMobil, were responsible for more than one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions since 1965 – the point at which experts say fossil fuel companies were aware of the link between their products and climate change.

But it’s not just fossil fuel companies fueling the climate crisis. Even if we immediately phased out oil and gas, emissions from agriculture alone may make it impossible to limit warming to the 1.5C goal in the Paris agreement.

(...)

Many companies have publicly called for governments to take stronger climate action; behind the scenes it can be a different story.

Amazon and Microsoft, for example, have been criticized for pitching themselves as climate leaders while also donating tens of thousands of dollars to politicians who oppose climate action. An Amazon spokesperson said it actively advocates for clean energy policies and a spokesperson for Microsoft said that to make progress the company “must engage with candidates and officeholders who hold a range of views.”

(...)

These same firms also encouraged a public narrative of individual responsibility for the climate crisis. British Petroleum notoriously helped to popularize the term “carbon footprint” with an online calculator that encouraged people to measure their own emissions.

This focus on personal responsibility is echoed in other sectors, which advertise “more sustainable” products while continuing business-as-usual models of consumption and production.

“The discussion that moves us away from corporate responsibility to personal responsibility is a huge distraction,” said Shannon Lloyd, an assistant professor of management at Concordia University in Canada. “As an individual, your choices have very little impact in terms of reducing the carbon or other environmental footprint of products. It’s more about getting laws put in place or policies in place than individual purchasing decisions.”

(...)