Which sectors are ahead in reducing emissions?

Businesses around the world are finally starting to sit up and take notice of the effects that global warming is having on our planet. Despite this, there is a frequently voiced notion that not enough is being done to tackle the climate crisis.

We still have a long way to go to achieve the reduction in emissions needed to avoid a climate disaster and it is important to specify which businesses and industries need to do more. On the flip side, some companies are already doing a great deal and they are pioneering pathways to low carbon operations for others to follow.

When looking at our current emissions trajectory, it does not make for good reading. The past six years have seen global emissions grow on a path that will not allow us to limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.

Specialist data analytics firm, Point380, was commissioned by The World Economic Forum to review data from over 2,500 companies that had been reporting their carbon emissions since 2015 and found that although their reductions are not in line with limiting warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, they are on track to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius.

The report concluded that the companies that actually measure their emissions are also more likely to be reducing them.

Some sectors are doing better than others and looking into this offers an insight into the low-carbon economy that is taking shape. A key driver behind this is decarbonisation in the power sector. Not only are companies becoming more energy-efficient, but low-carbon power is playing a big role.

This has led to the emissions from leading power utility companies to fall at a dramatic rate. This is because of a series of smart policies aimed at driving a shift away from carbon-intensive energy sources like coal. The reductions in emissions from the power sector are also having an indirect yet positive impact on the sectors that use electricity as a large proportion of their emissions – such as healthcare and finance.

Emissions have increased in the IT and real estate sectors as a direct result of growth and there is a need to develop low-carbon growth strategies, one of which could be the implementation of digital twin technology.

Reductions have been harder to come by in those sectors where emissions are linked to fossil fuels or are generated due to industrial processes. A technology shift is needed in the energy, industrial and materials sectors in order to enable a switch to low-carbon fuels or electric power sources.

Smart policies and public investment in the power sector are driving change whilst forward-thinking companies are leading the race to reduce emissions.

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