France launches a tool for transparency in private sector climate commitments

Faced with the multiple and sometimes disorderly commitments of private sector actors in favor of the climate, France announced on Thursday the creation of a new transparency tool concerning their promises, a few days before the opening of COP26 in Glasgow.

Called One Planet Climate Hub, the future platform will aim to measure the concrete commitments made by international private sector players, many of whom are grouped together in a coalition committed to the climate, like the Climate Action 100 + launched by investors. “The creation of this new platform, which could be set up in at least three months, meets a double requirement”, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday during a speech at the One Planet conference. Summit at the initiative of France.

Realize

“To report to citizens on actions carried out by the private sector, and to give overall visibility to the action of the private sector”, said the Head of State, welcoming an initiative of transparency and accountability. The initiative also aims to set up standardized tools for precise measurement of the commitments of companies and investors, in order to be able to compare the effectiveness of the measures decided upon. “This platform will help ensure that private sector actors effectively contribute to the ecological transition”, said the French Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire.

Concretely, the various coalitions of private actors created in recent years, particularly around questions of carbon neutrality or transparency, will be able to join it voluntarily. The platform’s launch has already received backing from Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England, who currently heads a coalition of major climate finance institutions, as well as billionaire and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg. “The more information investors have about climate risks and business opportunities, the faster they can turn to sustainable investments and harness capitalism for climate action”, said Michael Bloomberg, quoted in a statement announcing the creation of the One Planet Climate Hub.   

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