Tuesday 15 June 2021
Google and Polestar sign up to global net zero initiatives
Google and Polestar have joined the Exponential Roadmap Initiative and UN Race to Zero initiatives as part of their work to tackle climate change.
The Race to Zero scheme aims to "rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery".
Claiming to be the largest-ever alliance committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the campaign is made up of 708 cities, 24 regions, 2,360 businesses, 163 institutional investors and 624 universities, together covering a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions and more than half of global GDP.
It hopes to mitigate looming climate threats, boost green job creation and enable fair and sustainable economic growth around the world.
Signatories must commit to at least halve emissions by 2030, set out a decarbonisation plan explaining how this will be delivered, take immediate action to reduce environmental impacts and pledge to publicly disclose progress.
Kate Brandt, Google Sustainability Officer, said: “Climate change is the biggest risk we face as a society. At Google, we see a challenge as an opportunity to solve it - and make things better for everyone. In 2007, we became the first major company to achieve carbon neutrality, and since 2017 we’ve matched 100% of our electricity consumption with renewable energy, enabling us to more than halve our cumulative scope 1 and 2 emissions over the last decade.
"Now we’ve taken on a new moonshot - by 2030 we aim to be the first major company to operate 24/7 on carbon-free energy. Building a carbon-free future for all won’t be easy, so we look forward to collaborating with other leaders and innovators in the Exponential Roadmap Initiative and the UN Race to Zero."
Thomas Ingenlath, the CEO of Polestar, said: “We listen to the latest science, which tells us that we are not moving fast enough to stay within the 1.5°C target. The automotive sector can have a profound effect and we have to step up. The partnership with the Exponential Roadmap Initiative will give us the opportunity to collaborate on climate strategies with companies who share our level of ambition. We also hope to use this platform to influence decision-makers and climate policy."
