SUSTAINABILITY
By David Crosoer , PPS Investments Chief Investments Officer
The year 2030 is just around the corner . This is also the year by which all 192 United Nations ( UN ) member states committed to achieve 17 ambitions Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) set in 2015 . These SDGs call for collective effort and collaboration on key metrics to improve the lives of everyone on the planet .
Back in 2015 , in Paris , the world committed to limiting global heating to 1.5 ° C above the pre-industrial age baseline temperature . The Paris-aligned climate commitments , like the UN SDGs , have also set ambitious emission-reduction targets for 2030 .
ARE WE ON TRACK TO MEET THESE TARGETS ?
Currently , the world is not on track to meet any of its 17 SDGs by 2030 . Rather than reducing emissions by 45 % from 2010 levels , 2030 emissions are expected to be 9 % higher .
In one recent engagement with a large global data provider , none of the listed companies that it tracks has emission-reduction plans that cover Scope 1-3 emissions compatible with a 1.5-degree world . On top of that , according to a recent poll , only 6 % of scientists on the international climate change panel believe a 1.5-degree world is still attainable .
The 1.5-degree target was seen as the maximum we could tolerate without devasting consequences for humanity and ecosystems . The world today is already 1.2 ° C warmer and we are experiencing significant negative consequences . It is difficult to even start to imagine what a point three-degree warmer world looks like . Needless to say , the consequences for less robust systems that have fallen far short of meeting the 17 UN SDGs are likely to be catastrophic .
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Scope 1 : Direct emissions : Emissions produced by companyowned and controlled resources .
Scope 2 : Indirect emissions – owned : The generation of purchased energy from a utility provider e . g ., electricity
Scope 3 : Indirect emissions – not owned : Other emissions and separated into 15 categories across upstream and downstream activities .
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