{"id":382992,"date":"2025-06-12T19:40:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T17:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=382992"},"modified":"2025-06-12T19:40:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T17:40:43","slug":"net-zero-now-elephant-in-corporate-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=382992","title":{"rendered":"Net Zero Now Elephant in Corporate\u00a0World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Irina Slav explains the shift away from climate virtue in her Oil Price article Corporate World Goes Quiet on Climate Pledges.<\/strong><\/a>  Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2666 Major companies are quietly\u00a0scaling back climate language<\/strong>\u00a0in reports, with firms like American Airlines, GM, and Coca-Cola reducing or removing net-zero and emissions-related content.<\/em>
\u2666 Profit<\/span>ability and political headwinds<\/strong>\u00a0are driving the retreat.<\/em>
\u2666 Corporate climate\u00a0messaging<\/strong>\u00a0is becoming\u00a0more cautious,<\/strong>\u00a0with 80% of executives adjusting their transition narratives and half avoiding net-zero talk entirely.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies in various industries are removing climate change and net zero language from their reports, the Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> t<\/strong>his month, lamenting<\/strong> the fact that corporates were \u201cwatering down\u201d their commitments<\/strong> in the area. It may be temporary<\/strong>\u2014or<\/strong> it may be the natural thing.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Analysis of the proxy statements<\/strong> of a number of large businesses conducted by the WSJ showed that many of them were, it seems, less willing to discuss climate change and their response to it<\/strong> in as much detail as they were a few years ago. The WSJ suggested it was an about-turn prompted by the energy policies of the Trump administration and the axing of the Inflation Reduction Act.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies \u201cimplicated\u201d<\/strong> in watering down their climate change language included American Airlines, Kroger, American Eagle Outfitters, and e.l.f. Beauty. Their crime<\/strong> was either reducing the amount of text<\/strong> dedicated to climate change and the respective company\u2019s efforts to counter it or entirely removing such text.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The above are not the only ones<\/strong> that have gone rather general on climate change. Coca-Cola<\/strong> only mentions climate and emissions in general terms and briefly in its latest proxy statement<\/a>. GM<\/strong> also does not go<\/a> into a lot of detail on its net-zero efforts, and neither does United Airlines<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet there are perfectly respectable reasons for this,
even from a climate activist perspective.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of these companies produce separate reports regarding climate change and emission reduction<\/strong> because it is the done thing these days. Indeed, one of them told the WSJ as much. \u201cWe periodically adjust the copy used in the company\u2019s external messaging and communications,<\/strong>\u201d a spokesperson for American Eagle Outfitters told the publication. \u201cAEO\u2019s commitment to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions remains unchanged.\u201d<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Other comments from the mentioned companies follow the same lines: these businesses have already internalized emission-cutting language and action, and no longer feel the need<\/strong> to talk loudly about it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, of course, there\u2019s the Trump factor at work.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current administration axed billions on subsidies for transition-related businesses.<\/strong> As a result, these businesses are suffering a fate even worse than theirs already was because of:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2666 raw material inflation;<\/em>
\u2666 higher borrowing costs that had nothing to do with the Trump admin, and, notably,<\/em>
\u2666 pullback from investors that realized they had grossly overestimated the speed, at which their investment in net zero would be returned.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s policies certainly hurt the coolness aspect<\/strong>\u00a0of net-zero pledges and pronouncements,\u00a0but<\/strong>\u00a0it was the\u00a0lack of promised profits<\/strong>\u00a0that likely\u00a0played a bigger part<\/strong>\u00a0and led to companies toning down these pledges and pronouncements.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole sector \u2014 solar, wind, hydrogen, fuel cells \u2014 anything clean is dead for now,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>one energy transition-focused hedge fund manager\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Bloomberg earlier this year. \u201cThe\u00a0fundamentals<\/strong>\u00a0are\u00a0very poor<\/strong>,\u201d Gupta, who manages some $100 million, told Bloomberg, adding, \u201cI\u2019m not talking about long term. I\u2019m talking about where I see\u00a0weakness right now.<\/strong>\u201d Apparently, the long-term outlook for net zero remains bright, but the short term is more problematic.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yet considerable problems abound\u00a0not just<\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0industries<\/strong>\u00a0directly related to the energy transition,<\/strong>\u00a0such as it is. Even companies in\u00a0other industries<\/strong>, such as air travel and cosmetics, are\u00a0finding it difficult to stick to their pledges<\/strong>\u2014at least without losing a lot of money. Tracking and reporting\u00a0Scope 3 emissions<\/strong>, for instance, requires substantial resources and carries equally\u00a0substantial costs<\/strong>. After all, it involves tracking the emissions of an entire supply chain from suppliers to consumers. Many corporations are realizing investing the money, time, and effort in this endeavor\u00a0may not be worth it,<\/strong>\u00a0especially with a federal government that does not care about any sort of energy transition at all.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another thing they are realizing is that, put crudely,\u00a0emission tracking does not pay<\/strong>\u2014not\u00a0without a solid subsidy back that is at present absent.<\/strong>\u00a0It was the Wall Street Journal again that\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0how transition-focused startups were folding as Trump axed those subsidies.\u00a0EV batteries, direct air capture, and even solar power,<\/strong>\u00a0which was supposed to have become well established, are now\u00a0suffering the consequences of overhyping.<\/strong>\u00a0With the\u00a0benefits<\/strong>\u00a0that were promised to come from net zero\u00a0never materializing, unlike costs related to the transition push,<\/strong>\u00a0could anyone really blame corporate leaderships for removing net-zero language from their reports?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Indeed, a recent survey from the Conference Board that the WSJ cited in its report found that as much as\u00a080% of corporate executives<\/strong>\u00a0said their companies were\u00a0\u201cadjusting\u201d their transition narrative<\/strong>\u2014for fear of backlash that has prompted\u00a050% of the respondents to entirely stop talking about net zero.<\/strong>\u00a0That backlash can hardly be blamed on Trump. It is a\u00a0natural consequence of the overhyping that never delivered<\/strong>\u00a0on the promises made. What is happening, then, is a natural process that, one might argue, was even\u00a0late in coming.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Companies in various industries are removing climate change and net zero language from their reports, the\u00a0Wall Street Journal\u00a0reported\u00a0this month,\u00a0lamenting\u00a0the fact that corporates were\u00a0\u201cwatering down\u201d their commitments\u00a0in the area. It may be\u00a0temporary\u2014or\u00a0it may be\u00a0the natural thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":383014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818056,691835788,691818618,691824307,691818154,691835789,691833648],"class_list":{"0":"post-382992","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-climate-language","10":"tag-energy-transition","11":"tag-investments","12":"tag-net-zero","13":"tag-ro-language-from-their-reports","14":"tag-wall-street-journal-wsj","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-26.-Mai-2025-10_22_01.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1BDi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":230838,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=230838","url_meta":{"origin":382992,"position":0},"title":"LIVE 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