Global Carbon Tax Key To Pushing Energy Agenda In Africa

Many companies based in Africa are looking to delay significant action to after 2030, with the 2020s looking set to be a lost decade.

Some 32 percent of business leaders (34 percent globally) said their companies will make the most progress between 2030 and 2040, while a further 40 percent (37 percent globally) said they will take the most action between 2040 and 2050.

Most companies are delaying transition because they do not feel they are currently equipped to meet the target. Some 78 percent (59 percent globally) said they need an extensive organizational change before tackling net zero.

A lack of finance isn’t the only hurdle companies in Africa’s face on the road to 2050. Seventy-two percent (63 percent globally) believe a lack of consensus on net-zero definitions and targets is hampering progress, while the same percentage (60 percent globally) say a lack of support for net-zero transition from their organization’s investors is a significant barrier to net zero.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 is forcing many businesses in the region to focus on immediate survival: A whopping 80 percent (85 percent globally) of African senior executives say the pandemic has delayed their company’s net-zero transition.

How to fix it

Business leaders believe is needed in order to speed up the transition. 90 percent (77 percent globally) believe an effective global carbon tax, based on a carbon price that reflects the true cost of climate change, would help the transition.

A further 88 percent (81 percent globally) said cost savings from sustainable practices could help the world hit net zero by 2050. Meanwhile, the same percentage (81 percent globally) believe standardized net-zero measurement frameworks would help with the transition, underlining the fact that what we have currently, a matrix of different definitions, measurement, and reporting requirements is a major challenge for senior executives.

Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered says: “Our survey reveals that most companies intend to transition to net-zero by 2050 but have yet to take the action needed to get there. A majority cite funding as an obstacle and carbon-intensive industries and emerging-market companies struggle the most.

Zeronomics examines the economics of transitioning to a net-zero carbon future. Standard Chartered commissioned this major global study to understand how far companies have come on their journey to decarbonize and it reveals a gulf between words and action.

Reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will be a considerable challenge. Every organization in every sector has a critical role to play in limiting global warming. Commitment to this agenda must be top of mind for all companies – public and private, large and small – and to succeed they must undergo a major transformation.