{"id":14963,"date":"2024-01-17T13:27:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T13:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esgtoday.com\/?p=14963"},"modified":"2024-01-17T13:27:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T13:27:17","slug":"guest-post-2024-the-year-to-move-from-climate-ambition-to-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esgtoday.com\/guest-post-2024-the-year-to-move-from-climate-ambition-to-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: 2024, The Year to Move from Climate Ambition to Action"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-14963\" data-postid=\"14963\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-14963 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">By: John McCalla-Leacy, Global Head of ESG at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/home.kpmg\/xx\/en\/home.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">KPMG<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Last month COP28 closed in Dubai \u2013 achieving a number of landmark agreements and pledges. The summit took place in a nation that\u2019s built its wealth on fossil fuels and amid a backdrop of a challenging geopolitical and economic landscape. As many governments and central banks grapple with inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and conflicts, a constant risk persists that immediate attention is placed on that which \u2018seems\u2019 most urgent, to the detriment of the important, and that ESG may slip off the radar. Personally, I left the UAE with a sense of cautious optimism. It wasn\u2019t perfect, but the world seems to be moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agreement to \u2018transition away from fossil fuels\u2019 may have attracted criticism for the absence of \u2018phase down\u2019 language but the importance of the deal and how much it moves the debate forward should not be underestimated. The world is not there yet, but even recognizing on a collective level that there is a need to shift away from fossil fuels is a big deal. Coal, oil and gas account for three quarters of the world\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions. The stark reality is that a failure to deliver a truly just energy transition, that meets the needs of both developing and developed nations \u2013 will be a failure to solve the climate crisis. Expect the world\u2019s decision makers increase the number and depth of conversations on what actions are needed when they meet here in Davos and at future COP summits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The COP28 summit demonstrated that there is growing awareness of renewable\u2019s potential. There was agreement to aim to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030 whilst recognizing the need to peak global emissions by next year, 2025.&nbsp; The shift to renewables is a fundamental enabler to a low carbon economy, but it won\u2019t be easy. KPMG\u2019s report \u2018Turning the tide in scaling renewables\u2019 highlighted the challenges ahead. A majority of industry execs surveyed (84 percent) shared that current market barriers were causing delays to roll out or funding of renewable projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The research in the KPMG report highlights the scale of what lies ahead. Here in Davos, business and political leaders have an opportunity to act. As the world edges closer to 2030 all the evidence suggests we will struggle to meet the original Paris Agreement targets. Indeed, if all COP28 pledges are met, the world would still fall short of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees. Despite growing commitment and consensus, there remains key barriers to unlocking new, cleaner sources of energy and more needs to be done to communicate in a simpler, more transparent way on the impact each of us is making \u2013 positively and negatively in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This week there\u2019ll be a lot about the potential of technology and innovation, which may be leveraged to accelerate action on climate. Among them &#8211; AI. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve spoken about recently and I\u2019m excited about what it can do. Whether it\u2019s analyzing large data sets to support companies\u2019 disclosure requirements or helping to auto-generate company specific decarbonization pathways and build transition plans, AI\u2019s possibilities are huge. But so too is its potential to actually add to the damage being done to the planet. With questions raised about the vast amount of computing power needed to meet the AI demand as well as how the world can ensure that AI is utilized with appropriate governance and controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Talk of innovation in potential future technology solutions is encouraging, but innovation is also needed in the way that businesses are managed. &nbsp;One example of how the business community is stepping up to this challenge, is the recent work of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Here 200 CEO-led organizations, including KPMG, are coming together to accelerate the transition to a net-zero world. WBCSD has provided guidance on how businesses may better embed the accountability for climate action into Corporate Performance and Accountability systems (CPAS) and drive the link between financial markets and sustainable business transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As my week in Davos draws to a close \u2013 I recall the words of the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, who at COP28 called &#8220;all the governments and businesses&#8230;to turn pledges into real economy outcomes, without delay\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The work ahead, to deliver a just and low carbon economy resonates with the themes of Davos around security and trust, but these are set against the backdrop of more than half the world\u2019s population going to elections 2024 at a time of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. My view is 2024 will be a critical year. Business leaders should not wait for regulatory change.&nbsp; If you haven\u2019t already acted, then act now. Embed ESG in everything you do. Put the right people and right tools in place with appropriate levels of funding. Monitor, measure and respond. The climate crisis is not something to worry about in the future. It\u2019s happening now. For leaders \u2013 across business and politics \u2013 this is our collective moment to do the right thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>John McCalla-Leacy is Global Head of ESG at KPMG International<\/em><\/strong><\/p><span class=\"et_bloom_bottom_trigger\"><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: John McCalla-Leacy, Global Head of ESG at\u00a0KPMG Last month COP28 closed in Dubai \u2013 achieving a number of landmark agreements and pledges. The summit took place in a nation that\u2019s built its wealth on fossil fuels and amid a backdrop of a challenging geopolitical and economic landscape. As many governments and central banks grapple [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,33],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Guest Post: 2024, The Year to Move from Climate Ambition to Action - ESG Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esgtoday.com\/guest-post-2024-the-year-to-move-from-climate-ambition-to-action\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guest Post: 2024, The Year to Move from Climate Ambition to Action - ESG Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: John McCalla-Leacy, Global Head of ESG at\u00a0KPMG Last month COP28 closed in Dubai \u2013 achieving a number of landmark agreements and pledges. 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