Cop 27: UN Report Condemns Greenwashing. Know All About It

The term greenwashing is typically referred to as the false claims of progress in the fight against global warming that can confuse investors and policymakers.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday stressed there will be zero tolerance for greenwashing and warned that the world cannot afford any more greenwashing, fake movers or late movers.  Guterres noted that commitments to net zero are worth zero without the plans, policies and actions to back it up. The latest UN report submitted on Tuesday also pointed out at promises by companies, banks, and cities to achieve net zero emissions often amounting to little more than greenwashing. The report recommended a range of measures to prevent greenwashing.

"Net zero commitments can't be a mere public relations exercise if we want to win the fight against climate change," Guterres tweeted citing the report.

The report, released at the COP 27 climate conference in Egypt, aims to draw a "red line" around greenwashing, reported news agency Reuters.

What is greenwashing?

The term greenwashing is typically referred to as the false claims of progress in the fight against global warming that can confuse investors and policymakers.

What is the reason behind Greenwashing?

Greenwashing has become common in absence of universal or rigorous regulations and standards. It is also because as of now the processes, institutions and ways to measure, report, create standards or to verify claims besides granting certifications are still underway. However, a large number of organisations have come up offering such services. While many of these institutions lack integrity and robustness, corporations look to avail such services to make their organisation look credible.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last year appointed 17 experts to access the integrity of non-state net zero commitments over concerns about "a surplus of confusion and deficit of credibility" involving corporate green boasting, according to the report.

The report headed by Canada's former environment minister Catherine McKenna, found that "too many of these net zero pledges are little more than empty slogans and hype". "Bogus net zero claims drive up the cost that ultimately everyone will pay," she added, as per the Reuters report. An estimated 80 per cent of global emissions are now covered by pledges that commit to reaching net zero emissions.

The report also recommends companies and other non-state actors should ensure their claims are credible. For example, a company cannot claim to be net zero if it continues to build or invest in new fossil fuel infrastructure or deforestation.

The report dismissed the use of cheap carbon credits to offset continued emissions as a viable net zero strategy, and recommends companies, financial institutions, cities and regions to focus on outright emissions and not carbon intensity, a measure of how much carbon is emitted per unit of output.