Science-based targets scheme tightens rules in line with latest science

Science-based targets scheme tightens rules inline with latest science

Influential initiative updates approach for assessing if corporate carbon targets are in line with 1.5 C and well below 2 C' warming goals

Corporate striving for 'best in class' sustainability strategies will have to meet tougher criteria to gain approval from the Science-Based Targets Initiative.

The body, which  independently assesses corporate carbon reduction targets to ensure they are in line with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, said yesterday it had updated its materials for 1.5 C targets to bring them in line with the latest guidance from the landmark report last year.

The October paper made headlines around the  world for its stark assessment of the severe impacts more than 1.5 C of warming would have is to be any chance of avoiding higher levels of warming.

Only a handful of companies-

including Tesco, and Pukka Herbs- have set science-based targets in line with 1.5 C of warming, with most corporate instead opting for less stringent, but still hugely demanding emissions goals, in line with a 2 C warming trajectory.

But from October 2019 the Science-Based Targets Initiative said companies will at a minimum have to set targets in line with the Paris Agreement's stated goal of keeping temperature increases "well below" 2 C.

And to ensure targets remain aligned with the most recent climate science, companies will be required to review, and if necessary re validate, their targets every five years from the date of the original target approval, Science-Based Targets Initiative added. The new approach will become mandatory from 2015, it said.

Alexander, global lead for science-based targets at WWF, one of the Science Based Targets initiative partners, said the changes were made to ensure the Science Based Targets Initiative's work reflects the urgency of the climate challenge.

"Companies have a vital  role to play in realizing this goal," he said. "The latest science from the IPCC has shown the way forward. We urge companies to raise the bar and set the  pace of change that we know is needed."

Since the Science Based targets Initiative started in 2015, it has approved targets from more than 160 companies with a further 350 firms having committed to setting a science-based target within the next two years. Kingfisher the firm behind DIY brands became the latest corporate to have its targets approved by the Committee earlier this week.