Net-zero data portal to accelerate transition
BloombergNEF reports investment in clean energy shot up 31% last year, to set a record of US$1.1 trillion and draw even with fossil-fuel investment for the first time. A hopeful sign for sure.
But a world of investors, financial institutions, and companies still lack access to the climate data they must see and?trust?to make their best climate-related business decisions.?
Even when available, company-level net-zero pledges and other climate claims can be:?
These issues can delay or prevent private-sector efforts to help governments meet or approach their Paris Agreement goal of global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.??
That's why President Emmanuel Macron of France and Michael Bloomberg, in his role as the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, created a Climate Data Steering Committee last June to design and launch a new kind of climate-data portal that can accelerate the push to meet the 2050 Paris climate goal.?
Enter the portal
At the height of the COP27 climate summit at Sharm El-Sheikh last November, the Committee announced its final recommendations for the world's first?public-access?private-sector climate-data portal in a?central?location — no paywalls and no subscriptions. Anyone will have unlimited access to all the data on offer.??
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One prime purpose of this new?Net-Zero Data Public Utility?(NZDPU)?is to give all stakeholders a chance to weigh the climate claims of companies and financial institutions against their performance — and reward or hold them accountable for their climate-related behavior.?
The Committee has gathered feedback on the design and function of its proposed NZDPU from a broad range of private- and public-sector stakeholders around the world.?
A pilot version of the NZDPU appears intent on evolving to include robust interactions among public-sector participants, independent climate standard-setters, financial institutions, industry focus groups, climate-related NGOs, and others. The organizing Committee also recommends that this NZDPU be eventually integrated within the Global Climate Action Portal of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).?
Right now, this net-zero data portal is a coalition of the willing. If this unique digital platform is to succeed, it will take a?lot?of foundational private-sector climate data from all major economies to be useful for all the projected stakeholders of its offering.
Companies and financial institutions that can attract investment, offer funding or other financial support, and build public goodwill by publicizing their success in helping to create a world of clean energy and much lower carbon emissions will be eager to appear on such a public platform.?
Many other companies, some financial institutions, and even countries may ignore, delay, or otherwise avoid embracing the Utility's mission. Success will depend, in part, on the willingness of policymakers and regulators to encourage or compel companies and financial institutions to share, improve, and verify their climate claims and performance on this highly innovative digital Utility.?
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