Greenwashing is insidious. Companies that give an impression of combating climate change while doing little discourage more determined steps to protect the planet. Those that mask the risks from global warming in their financial statements are particularly harmful.
Investors have the power to demand better. But governments can also help speed up the process. That is why money managers and advisors representing more than $2.5 trillion last week wrote to Alok Sharma, president of the United Nations’ upcoming COP26 climate conference, asking for heads of state to set a clear timeline for companies to produce accounts consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels; and for auditors to call out where they don’t.
The energy transition will take time. Nevertheless, the challenges it presents should inform the accounting assumptions that underpin companies’ calculation of profit and capital today. It cannot make sense for companies to publicly proclaim material climate risks and bold net-zero ambitions while ignoring these factors in their financial statements. To assume business as usual is to ignore the increased liabilities and impaired assets that may result from decarbonisation.
It’s not just oil and gas companies that face this challenge. Makers of cars with internal combustion engines or aeroplanes are largely misaligned with decarbonisation. Industries from cement manufacturing and intensive agriculture must be transformed in pursuit of net-zero emissions. This means revising their accounts today.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tyler Perry Has Guest Moose in Backyard of His HomeTyler Perry is full of Bullwinkle.
Read more »
When Stars Sue Studios: The Truth About Profit Participation Cases (Guest Column)Two of the top litigators in this hot practice area discuss the five biggest misconceptions out there. Even those closest to Hollywood dealmaking don't always have a clear picture about these types of disputes.
Read more »
Lesli Linka Glatter Elected DGA President; Second Woman To Hold PostLesli Linka Glatter has been elected president of the DGA at the guild’s biennial convention, held today at DGA national headquarters in Los Angeles. Glatter, who was the guild’s 1st vi…
Read more »
Britons are snapping up electric vehiclesThe rapid shift poses three looming risks: a fiscal hole, increased inequality and more traffic jams
Read more »
Tyler Perry Has Guest Moose in Backyard of His HomeTyler Perry is full of Bullwinkle.
Read more »
When Stars Sue Studios: The Truth About Profit Participation Cases (Guest Column)Two of the top litigators in this hot practice area discuss the five biggest misconceptions out there. Even those closest to Hollywood dealmaking don't always have a clear picture about these types of disputes.
Read more »