Addressing global warming is one of the foremost difficulties we’re facing in this era. The United Nations has cautioned that if adequate measures aren’t implemented within the next two years, we will be stuck with a constant stream of exceptionally harsh weather conditions.
June’s European Parliament elections revealed a significant resistance to environmental policies throughout the EU, a likely result of populist politicians’ campaigns against “net zero”, viewed as a rebuke against the privileged for loading the financial burden on common people to resolve issues beyond their control. This argument has received widespread attention in the wake of the escalating cost-of-living crisis.
Rectifying inequality is integral to combating climate change. Therefore, the recent ratification of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) into Irish law is a noteworthy move.
Representing an extensive revision of the EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), the CSRD is expected to necessitate compliance from roughly 50,000 EU companies, as opposed to 12,000 under the NFRD. The new directive is significantly more detailed and reliant on data, requiring organisations to provide proof of meeting their climate change and sustainability goals.
The CSRD was formulated to tackle the increasing instances of corporate environmental hypocrisy. Many firms claim to have admirable sustainability targets, but audits often reveal a stark disparity between their assertions and actual accomplishments.
For instance, some emission offsetting schemes, where companies buy “credits” to compensate for their pollution, have proven to be ineffective in diminishing emissions.
The CSRD mandates absolute transparency, reducing opportunities for manipulation provided by carbon credit schemes. Whilst the CSRD system remains a work in progress, it symbolises a vital move towards enforcing companies’ commitment to combat climate change.