“We can still do more.” With the call to action, CEBDS President Marina Grossi launched the new edition of the publication “How companies are contributing to the Paris Agreement.” The study, conducted in partnership with CDP Latin America, shows how companies include climate risks and opportunities in their planning and investments in research and development to reduce and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
The survey analyzed 61 Brazilian and multinational companies operating in the country, representing approximately 90% of the capital traded on the stock exchange in Brazil. Of these, 22 are members of CEBDS.
“The private sector is a protagonist in this carbon pricing agenda and transition to a low-carbon economy. It is economically interesting and speaks to competitiveness, since our energy matrix is cleaner and we are thus ahead in a 'race' in this new scenario. We have to seize opportunities and combat risks to ensure that businesses prosper,” argues CEBDS president Marina Grossi.
WWF-Brazil’s green economy director, Alexandre Prado, called for more effective actions to limit global warming to 1.5°C. “It is urgent to do more. We need to focus on cleaner production, and be concerned about the impact it has on the environment and people. The climate crisis is urgent and we need to act more quickly.”
The advantages of transitioning to a low-carbon economy are many. For CEBDS technical assistant Rebeca Orosco, meeting the emissions reduction targets set out in Paris in August goes far beyond mitigating the effects of the global climate emergency.
“In Brazil, this change in mentality is already a reality: US$124 billion in estimated positive impacts through the development of products and services, access to new markets, more efficient production processes, use of energy sources and resilience for the business, among other factors”, he explained.
The importance of Article 6 for companies to achieve their emissions reduction targets was highlighted by the Senior Climate Manager of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). “Climate governance and legal certainty are necessary for companies to be able to fulfill their ambitions. We need to move forward on this environmental and economic agenda. A thermometer to see potential risks and opportunities is the inclusion of climate risk calculations in companies’ planning,” she highlighted.
A Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) is an important tool for companies to optimize their communications on climate risks. The set of guidelines is a way to simplify reporting and make information more accessible. For Febraban director Mario Sérgio Vasconcelos, identifying risks and opportunities is a factor to be analyzed in credit analyses. “Banks need to start analyzing their portfolios and identify which projects are low-risk and high-risk. And for this, there is guidance on implementing the TCFD recommendations, which will also contribute to a standardized narrative.”
The data used in the study is aligned with the TCFD recommendations, according to CDP Latin America director Lauro Marins. “This alignment allows for uniformity of data that makes it safer to measure the impact of emissions on companies.”
Andrew Knepp, Bayer’s vice president of sustainability, representing the business sector, states that companies have a responsibility to develop responsible businesses. “We are not only concerned with offering the best product, but also with creating possibilities that contribute to sustainable development. Biotechnology is one of these paths, but there are many others,” he argues.
