SC Group “It Will Be Difficult to Achieve the’Carbon Neutral’ Goal in 2050”

The Standard Chartered (SC) Group predicted that the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to achieve’Net Zero’ by 2050, will be difficult to adhere to. This is because more than half of the world’s major companies are not taking concrete action steps. Carbon neutral refers to the concept of making the real emission zero by taking measures to absorb as much carbon dioxide as it is emitted.

On the 26th, SC Group, the parent company of SC Cheil Bank, made such a statement in its’Carbon Neutral Report-Zeronomics’ report. This report is the result of a study conducted in September-October last year with 250 senior executives and 100 investment experts around the world.

According to the report, there was a huge gap between the decarbonization goals set by companies and actual implementation. Fifty-five percent of senior executives said they are not making a rapid transition to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050. The biggest obstacle was the financing of expenses necessary for the transition. 85% of global companies said they needed a high level of investment to transition to carbon neutrality. 59% of respondents said that a large-scale reorganization is necessary.

In particular, it was found that companies in carbon-intensive industries and emerging markets complained of difficulties in transitioning to carbon neutrality. 71% of respondents said they would postpone key measures for the transition to carbon neutrality after 2030, as uncertainties are expected over the next 10 years from 2020.

67% of global companies cited financial support as the biggest obstacle to their carbon-neutral transition. 64% answered that the transition was delayed due to a lack of alternative technologies, and 60% considered the lack of support from investors as a barrier. With Corona 19, it is necessary to focus on survival in front of them, so 52% of global companies said that they are delaying the carbon-neutral transition to maximize short-term profits.

81% of respondents answered that a standardized carbon-neutral evaluation system is needed as a way to speed up the carbon-neutral transition. 81% of companies also cited cost reduction and efficiency gains through the establishment of sustainable business practices.

Meanwhile, about 70% of major Korean and Japanese companies answered that they are faithfully supporting the achievement of the Paris Climate Agreement goals. In addition, 80% of respondents answered the lack of carbon emission reduction technology as the biggest obstacle to the transition to carbon neutrality, revealing a significant difference in perception from the world’s leading corporate executives (51%). 87% said they were having a hard time transitioning to carbon neutrality due to their short term as CEO.

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