THE CLIMATE CRISIS Finding Solutions
3%
5%
2%
38%
16%
Hydro
Coal
GLOBAL ELECTRICITY GENERATION in 2018
Nuclear
Oil
10%
Gas
3%
SOURCE: IEA, WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK, 2019 EDITION
23%
part,” says Harrison. “We understand that, for a lot of suppliers, sustainability is new, and they are likely to achieve a low score. Publishing a low score may discourage them from improving and, worse still, discourage others from taking part.” TECH COMPANIES TAKE A STAND “Tech companies – and most media companies are also tech companies – have a huge role to play in arresting climate change, and this self-awareness is starting to drive change. The World Economic Forum estimates that the digital sector can halve CO2 emissions by 2030 through a mix of direct and indirect actions – including the influence media has on people’s lives,” explains Harrison.
A number of DPP member companies have also already completed the assessment, including Atos, Film Locker, InSync Technology, Piksel, Qvest Media, Red Bee and Sundog Media Toolkit. Sports broadcast think tank the Sports Video Group (SVG) is also a supporter and will encourage its members to take part. Though the DPP doesn’t seem to have defined a specific zero emissions target date, Harrison points to the UNDP and the report from Climate Action Summit 2019, which puts forward the need to reduce global carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. “Any targets that organisations or the industry in general set need to be far more aggressive than those already proposed
by the Climate Action Summit,” Harrison warns. “For example, the BBC’s Greener Broadcasting strategy aims to have a positive environmental impact by 2028 - meaning it aims to give back more than it takes out by 2028. If we take that as a benchmark, then it’s not a huge amount of time to get to a position where the industry at the very least has reduced its emissions by 45%.” Of course, any target short of zero emissions by noon tomorrow is problematic. Every day that goes by is a day that locks in more heating. At some point, businesses must make quantum – likely uncomfortable – leaps if we stand a chance of getting things under control. At the end of last year, Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said: “Our collective failure to act early and hard on climate change means we now must deliver deep cuts to emissions – over 7% each year, if we break it down evenly over the next decade. This shows that countries simply cannot wait until the end of 2020, when new climate commitments are due, to step up action. They – and every city, region, business and individual – need to act now.”
TECH COMPANIES - AND MOST MEDIA COMPANIES ARE ALSO TECH COMPANIES – HAVE A HUGE ROLE TO PLAY IN ARRESTING CLIMATE CHANGE
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