Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) has signed up for the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a collaboration between CDP, a non-profit charity, 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.
Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP, highlighted that 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,” he pointed out.
APSEZ becomes the first Indian port and the seventh in the world to sign the commitment letter to SBTi. Joining SBTi project, APSEZ strengthens the country’s commitment to the “Paris Climate Agreement”, according to an announcement.
In addition, 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.
“We have less than 10 years to fundamentally change our economies or we will face catastrophic consequences,” commented Lise Kingo, CEO and 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.”
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 25GW of renewable power by 2025 which in turn will see a total investment of US$15 billion in the renewable energy space over the next five years.
