Apple backs far-reaching emissions disclosure rules

Apple Inc on Tuesday called for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require companies to disclose far-reading emissions information such as how customers use their products, according to a tweet from Apple Vice President Lisa Jackson.

The comments by the iPhone maker mark the most specific prescription to date from a large public company about what disclosures are needed, said Veena Ramani, senior program director for Ceres, a Boston-based climate advocacy group.

The SEC last month said it will seek input on how companies might report on their greenhouse gas emissions and other climate factors.

Investors have poured money into funds that use environmental, social and governance factors to pick stocks, but a lack of common standards has made it hard to compare issuers' operations.

Jackson, a former US environmental regulator, in her tweet included a statement that Apple "believes that the SEC should issue rules to require that companies disclose third-party-audited emissions information to the public, covering all scopes of emissions, direct and indirect, and the value chain."

An Apple spokeswoman confirmed the phrasing referred to so-called Scope 3 emissions like those resulting from the use of a company's products by other parties. While that can be simple for technology or finance companies to provide, calls to publish the data can be controversial for other industries.

In reporting its Scope 3 emissions in January for the first time, oil major ExxonMobil Corp wrote that the data "is less certain and less consistent because it includes the indirect emissions resulting from the consumption and use of a company’s products occurring outside of its control."

Various other business leaders have previously called for mandatory climate disclosures including Larry Fink, CEO of top investor BlackRock Inc. In February, BlackRock also urged heavy polluters to disclose their Scope 3 emissions to investors, like the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures has also recommended.

In addition, Apple was among hundreds of companies that on Tuesday pressured the administration of US President Joe Biden to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

-reuters-

Air France to offset daily CO2 emissions by next year

PARIS - French carrier Air France will offset the carbon dioxide emissions of its 500-odd daily internal flights by 2020 at a cost of millions of euros, the company's CEO has announced.

In a bid to counteract its climate impact, the company will finance projects that support tree planting, forest protection and the global shift to less polluting energy, Anne Rigail told Le Parisien newspaper.

"It is an investment of several million euros, she said in an interview published late Monday, adding the company was acting "voluntarily".

Other projects would include banning single-use plastics such as cutlery from local flights as from January, and "to start separating and recycling waste" from October.

The airline industry has been under fire over its carbon emissions, which at 285 grams of CO2 emitted per kilometer travelled by each passenger, far exceed all other modes of transport, according to the European Environment Agency.

Heavy duty transportation -- freight trucking, shipping and aviation -- represent over a tenth of global greenhouse gas emissions, says the World Resources Institute, a research body.

The emissions contribute to global warming and climate change, which scientists say will unleash ever harsher droughts, superstorms, and sea-level rise.

In July, France announced it would impose new taxes on plane tickets of between 1.50 and 18 euros per flight -- a move criticized by Air France.

It is meant to raise about 180 million euros a year to be invested in greener transport infrastructure.

Rigail said she did not know if there had been a drop in passenger numbers due to a campaign of "flight shaming" (flygskam) spearheaded by 16-year-old schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, who has become a symbol of the fight against climate change.

source: news.abs-cbn.com