Adani Ports groups commits to science-based emissions reduction targets

July 22, 2020

Ahmedabad: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has committed to science-based carbon emissions reduction targets in accordance with the ‘Paris Climate Agreement’ under which Indian has made ambitious commitments.

The group has signed up for Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) which is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Through SBTi, companies are responding by committing to set science-based emissions reduction targets — across their entire value chain — that are consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Committed companies have 24 months to have their targets approved and published by the SBTi.

APSEZ has also signed commitment as a supporter to the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), which develops voluntary, consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to investors, lenders, insurers, and other stakeholders. A total of 16 Indian companies are supporting the TCFD out of which two are Adani Group’s subsidiaries.

“As a group, we are committed to a sustainable future driven by continuous interventions in our processes and operations. APSEZ is committed to SBTi and TCFD to ensure emission reductions are achieved with defined targets towards the goal of becoming carbon neutral. This is another significant step demonstrating the Adani Group’s stated commitment of contributing to India’s COP21 targets and global climate goals.” said Mr. Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director of APSEZ.

“We have less than 10 years to fundamentally change our economies or we will face catastrophic consequences,” said Lise Kingo, CEO & Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, one of the SBTi partners. “For the first time, we are seeing business and climate leaders coalesce around a common call-to-action, sending a powerful signal that science-based target setting presents a significant opportunity for businesses to step up when it comes to tackling climate change and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” he said.

Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP, one of the SBTi partners, said: “The science is clear: in order to limit the catastrophic impacts of climate change, we must ensure warming does not exceed 1.5°C. The ambition is high but it’s achievable — and science-based targets give companies a roadmap for getting there. Corporations worldwide have an unprecedented opportunity to be at the very forefront of the transition to a net-zero economy — and there is no time to lose.”

APSEZ is one out of a total of 43 Indian companies who have signed a commitment letter to SBTi. A total of 909 companies are taking science-based climate action and 392 companies have approved science-based targets through SBTi.

The Adani group has also set a goal to become the world’s largest solar power company by 2025 and the world’s largest renewable power company by 2030, through achieving an installed generation capacity of 25 GW of renewable power by 2025 which in turn will see a total investment of $15 billion in the renewable energy space over the next 5 years, a press release from the Adani group said.

—Indian News Stream