What are science-based targets?

Hi, I’m Barbara, the Co-CEO of 100% Renewables, a consultancy specialising in the development of Climate Action strategies. And in today’s video, I’ll be talking about target-setting in line with science.
Science-based targets (SBT) are greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets that are consistent with the level of decarbonisation that is required to keep global temperature increase within 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial temperature levels.

SBTs are consistent with the long-term goal of reaching net zero emissions in the second half of this century as per the Paris Agreement. SBTs provide a trajectory for companies to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Science-Based Targets initiative, or ‘SBTi’ for short, enables you to demonstrate your climate change leadership by publicly committing to science-based GHG reduction targets. The SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute, and the World Wide Fund for Nature .

The overall aim of the initiative is that by 2020 science-based target setting will become standard business practice and corporations will play a major role in ensuring we keep global warming well below a 2°C increase.

SBT target-setting methods are complex and should be considered in the context of your operations and value chains. Generally, science-based target-setting methods have three components:

• A carbon budget, which defines the overall amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted to limit warming to 1.5°C,

• An emissions scenario, which defines the magnitude and timing of emissions reductions and,

• An allocation approach, which defines how the carbon budget is allocated to individual companies.

In my next video, I’ll talk about target setting approaches for SBT. I hope you enjoyed this video. Thanks for watching!

свернуть