Reflection on COP27 and where to next Aotearoa New Zealand?

Nov 30, 2022 | News

TL;DR

  • COP27 – Shift from just governments to business action evident.
  • Positive – Lost & Damage commitment for the impact of climate change agreed upon, but the financial figure was not confirmed by countries yet.
  • Negative – Commitment on the reduction of fossil fuels did not make the mark expected.
  • Net zero for 2030 is going to be challenging
  • The focus needs to really shift to Scope 3 
  • Aotearoa New Zealand can make its mark in demonstrating change even though its % is small around the world through Community, Opportunity, Pathway

We believe businesses can be more successful and more sustainable in the short and long term when they link to a wider social, economic, or environmental goal, and businesses will be willing to evolve by operating in connected communities leveraging trusted data to achieve this.

Reflection on COP27 and where to next Aotearoa New Zealand?

As we watched the closing sessions at COP27, the halls emptied, people returned to the countries they came from, and a few pushed on to get some firm outcomes. 

Whatever your views on COP27 are, it does attract a diverse set of views from different countries, governments, software/service providers, large multinationals, SMEs, start-ups, and even climate activists. There were 100 Heads of State and Governments and over 35,000 participants.

There is no doubt it was not without its controversy, including its sponsor, the carbon footprint of attendees, and that it has the number “27” on the end.

So what were the outcomes from COP27?

  • Obviously, the big outcome that everyone is aware of is the Lost & Damage climate reparations commitment, tabled since Paris Agreement 2015. Even that has issues with the USA not wanting to pay for historical damage and countries still determining what the financial support will be.
  • There was no real commitment to reducing burning fossil fuels helping towards the target of 1.5oC.
  • The oil and gas Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty has not got the commitment it needs for rapid, deep, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
  • The target of zero carbon by 2030 is going to be challenging
  • Combating Greenwashing that is currently prolific across businesses and fake carbon offsets. 
  • Needing to move to address scope 3 emissions
  • Food production and transportation need to take responsibility for addressing its 25% of Global Emissions as well as safeguarding food security and ending hunger. 

“Our planet is still in the emergency room” : Antonio Guterres (Un Secretary General)………..but we would be in a far worse place without COP.

Now we have had time to let things sink in, where are we after COP27 and what does the mean for Aotearoa New Zealand?

Some of you might say “what can Aotearoa New Zealand do as in the grand scheme of things our footprint is a rounding error of other countries’ carbon figures?” 

So let us take the COP acronym and turn that into something we can build on:

Community

  • “The heart of implementation is: Everybody, Everywhere in the world, Every single day, Doing Everything they possibly can to address the climate crisis.” – COP27 keynote (UN Climate Change Executive Secretary)
  • Business awareness and education of the climate concerns and what is needed for businesses to be change makers together. 
  • That it is not seen as a punishment, or weaponised, we share the responsibility and acknowledge the efforts put in to share a common goal.
  • Businesses become connected as communities, to be able to govern change, breaking out from silos to a connected ecosystem. 
  • Take responsibility for understanding their deeper supply chains and applying shared governance.
  • Diving change is owned by business now, not waiting for the reporting dashboard at the end or being told of some target to hit.

Opportunity

  • To see what we need to do as an opportunity, not something that will hinder us.
  • Open up new ways of doing business to make us more efficient and better connected.
  • Consider our energy, carbon, impact on our environment as well as our social responsibilities. 
  • The impact Aotearoa New Zealand can have on the world can far exceed our carbon contribution, through technology adoption, innovation, sector commitment, and supportive government policy, that can be taken to other nations.
  • Competitive advantage as demand from consumers/customers will mandate the impact of their buying decisions. 

Pathway

  • That this is not just a carbon zero mission, but a socio-envrio impact mission that also has economic gains as we rethink our approaches.
  • That we embrace technology from deep tech, clean tech and make this accessible, inclusive, and affordable from SMEs to multinationals.
  • We utilise this as brand strengthening for Aotearoa New Zealand in maintaining the premium, high quality, and responsible products we produce.
  • Aotearoa New Zealand is open to innovation, removing barriers to early adoption, and be the thought leaders and action takers for change.

So, if you are interested in how your business can be proactive in improving its supply chain, through connected communities, then speak to Platform8.