The NGO Oxfam published a report on the climate trajectories of 35 CAC 40 companies on March 2 and sounded the alarm. If they do not change anything, their activities would lead to a global warming of + 3.5 ° C by 2100, far from the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Oxfam points to a lack of supervision and monitoring on the part of the public authorities.
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A few days before the review of the Climate and Resilience Bill in the National Assembly, the NGO Oxfam publishes on March 2 a report on the climate trajectories of CAC 40 companies. The conclusions are alarming: if all companies follow the same behaviors as those of large French companies, global warming will reach 3.5 ° C by 2100. That is 2 ° C more than the recommendations of scientists.
According to calculations by the NGO, the average annual carbon footprint of CAC 40 companies reaches 125 million tonnes of CO2, or a quarter of French emissions. Furthermore, four companies, Total, BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, each emit more CO2 than the whole of France. The full statistics were provided by Carbone 4, a consultancy firm on carbon strategy, which focused on 35 CAC 40 companies from sectors of activity deemed to be “strong stake “ for ecological transition, such as transport or energy.
Carbone 4 has accounted for the direct and indirect emissions (from emissions on the company’s site to emissions relating to the use of the product) and has taken into account emission reduction plans when they exist. From the carbon footprint of each company, the warming trajectory was deduced. Only three of them (EDF, Schneider, Legrand) tend towards compliance with the Paris Agreement.
(Source : Oxfam / Carbone 4)
Today, “if 30 companies (out of the 35 in our sample) have explicitly committed to aligning themselves with the objective of the Paris Agreement, they rarely put the means to achieve the objectives they have set for themselves “, underlines Oxfam. Only eight of them, including Michelin, Schneider Electric, EDF, Engie and Suez, have a plan to reduce their emissions across their entire scope of activity. None of the 35 companies reveal the amount and details of their investments in ecological transition.
Ambitions without means
The report points to a lack of supervision and support for companies in the transition. First, they are not obliged to publish an exhaustive assessment of their carbon footprint. The 2010 law on the National Commitment for the Environment requires companies with more than 500 employees to report only direct emissions (within the company) and those associated with the consumption of electricity on their sites. On the other hand, the law only encourages the publication of indirect emissions linked to the use of the product by the consumer. About twenty CAC 40 companies do not provide a complete assessment of their carbon footprint.
The NGO firstly recommends forcing companies to measure and publish their direct and indirect emissions. She then advises to include in the Climate and Resilience bill an obligation to publish the carbon footprint reduction trajectory, accompanied by an investment plan. The NGO supports the implementation of binding measures and financial sanctions.
Regarding financing, Oxfam recommends limiting the amount of dividends paid to shareholders to allow investment in the ecological transition. According to a study carried out by the NGO, “98% of the investment needs in the CAC 40 transition for 2018 could have been financed by a 30% framing of the share of profits returned to shareholders that year“.
Pauline Fricot, @PaulineFricot
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