Negative emissions remain mission possible, but the urgency is growing

From vanishing glaciers to more frequent natural catastrophes, the consequences of climate change are all around us. Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and negative emissions thereafter is critical as we work to limit rising global temperatures, with technology playing a key role in this endeavor. As nations meet at COP27 in Egypt this month to discuss the path forward, the urgency to accelerate these efforts is mounting.

This summer, with all eyes focused on Russia's war in Ukraine, inflation and the energy crisis, something else was happening quietly in my home country, Switzerland: three glaciers -- Pizol not far from Zurich, Corvatsch near St Moritz, and the Schwarzbachfirn above the Gotthard Pass -- were given up for lost as scientists from Zurich's Federal Institute of Technology abandoned their efforts to measure them. Where fields of ice once stood, there was no longer enough ice left to?measure.

The retreat of more than 1,000 glaciers in the Swiss Alps – and in the mountains of the Americas, Asia, New Zealand and Africa, where the glacier atop Mount Kilimanjaro is dwindling – is a reminder that even as tragic events like the war dominate our everyday thoughts, the existential challenge confronting us remains: Human-caused climate change.?

As the world now turns its attention to the United Nation's COP27 climate summit in Egypt, the path forward to limit rising temperatures to around 1.5 degrees Celsius remains clear, too. We must halve our emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Beyond that date, our society must achieve net-negative emissions, removing up to 20 billion tonnes of CO2 annually and storing it in perpetuity.

Re/insurance role

Technology investments will be central to this effort and must be accelerated. At Swiss Re, we've partnered with?Climeworks?to store carbon underground in perpetuity. The technology must be scaled, of course, because the world needs carbon removal on top of massive emissions reductions. Private-sector investment and public-sector policies must combine to create more fertile ground for these efforts.

We've also joined industry partners buying more than?one million tonnes?of verified carbon dioxide removals (CDRs) from projects generated from a range of technologies by 2025. As part of the UN-convened Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, Swiss Re has committed to transition our?investments?to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Re/insurers can drive change via their underwriting, too, like this year when we aligned our?oil and gas business?to meet our net-zero aspirations.

The obstacles, of course, can't be underestimated. Geopolitical turbulence set off by the Ukraine war has ratcheted up inflation and thrown food and energy markets into disarray. Still, the challenges of the moment shouldn't distract us from our 2050 objectives.

That's why COP27 comes at such a pivotal moment. It offers nations another opportunity to collaborate in a fight without borders. This includes truly transformative climate?adaptation?efforts that, rightfully so, are due to get even more attention at the summit in Egypt. Adaptation action is pivotal to lifting global resilience, to better equip our world to withstand the consequences of climate change that have already arrived.

Rising intensity, frequency

The impacts of extreme weather are all around us. Hurricane Ian will be one of the most destructive, costliest storms ever to make landfall. We've also seen historic flooding in Pakistan and Nigeria, as well as the destruction left by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico and Canada. We've experienced historic droughts in multiple geographies. The frequency, intensity and expanding range of many natural catastrophes are being driven by a warmer, wetter planet.

That makes the current trend -- global CO2 output has resumed its upward trajectory after a brief pandemic pause -- particularly concerning. At this rate, we're due to miss the 2015 Paris climate agreement targets. We need to turn that around.

Some efforts now underway, however, should fill us with optimism. For instance, the 123 companies that are part of the World Economic Forum?Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, which I co-chair and which Swiss Re helped initiate, have made significant strides in reducing their CO2 emissions as part of efforts to decarbonize their value chains in line with Paris agreement goals.

Alliance member companies that include retailer?Ikea, Italian energy provider Enel and Germany's Siemens have committed to cutting more than 1 gigaton of CO2 emissions, or about a quarter of their total emissions, annually by 2030. So far, their progress in emission reductions is actually outpacing that of many major nations.??

Aligning interests

I sometimes get this question: How do CEOs balance interests of shareholders and those of society in the pursuit of emission reductions and carbon removal? My answer is clear: "Shareholder value" and "value for society" have ceased to be concepts that can be addressed independently.

For shareholders, the best thing is for CEOs to be engaged. If leaders drive change, rather than waiting for change to force their hand, their companies will be far better prepared for what is to come. What the Alliance's CEOs have come to acknowledge is that net-zero is not merely about their own companies. Pressure on the entire value chain is intensifying and will touch virtually every one of their suppliers. For leaders who get ahead of this curve, this means opportunities. This realisation is spurring Alliance members to tackle their CO2 footprints now, not later.

Ten years ago, when we began talking about this issue very publicly, the message hit home with only a handful of CEOs. This has completely changed. Alliance companies are now leading the way as they reduce use of fossil fuels, conserve energy and work to decarbonise manufacturing, transportation, buildings and agriculture. They, too, have?prioritised?carbon removal technologies, as well as developing low-carbon solutions for the shipping, aviation, concrete, steel and aluminium industries where reductions have long been a challenge.?

Growing urgency

When I traveled to the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow this time last year, I initially had only modest expectations about what would emerge. But I actually came away?encouraged. The pact forged by roughly 200 nations, including commitments encouraging cuts to coal and fossil-fuel subsidies and establishment of international carbon market rules, represented some progress.

But promises and pledges are one thing. We need action and results.

This year, those leaders gathering at COP27 have a massive opportunity to act on even more-ambitious emission reductions commitments that lock in our course toward net- and negative-zero. The longer we wait, the more the?global economy?will be impacted and the costlier adaptation to a warming planet will be.

We must nurture and grow the coalition of individuals, companies, organisations and governments already pursuing this negative-emissions future. Since the consequences of a changing climate have never been more apparent, the urgency to do something about them has never been greater. This remains mission possible, but we must pick up the pace as we work to transform a time of turmoil into a decade of action.