Climate protection cannot be classified as exemplary in the 30 DAX companies, but the leading German share index does better than its counterparts in the remaining G-7 countries.

This is the result of a study by the FAZ by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a joint initiative of the UN Global Compact, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and others.

Markus Frühauf

Editor in business.

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    This initiative aims to support companies with scientifically sound climate targets on their way to a CO2-free economy.

    The most important guideline is the Paris Climate Agreement, according to which global warming compared to the pre-industrial age should be limited to well below 2 degrees Celsius, at best to 1.5 degrees.

    In order to achieve this goal, so-called “greenhouse gas neutrality” must be achieved in the second half of this century.

    Gases that are harmful to the climate may then no longer be emitted, i.e. withdrawn by nature, for example forests.

    Demands on G7 countries

    In the SBT study, the DAX companies achieved a global warming of 2.2 degrees, which does not correspond to the Paris climate target, but is better than the G-7 average of 2.8 degrees. The latest study shows that the leading industrialized countries have some catching up to do: none of the leading indices there are on track to achieve the Paris climate targets. With a view to the G-7 meeting this weekend, Lila Karbassi, board member of the UN Global Compact, urged governments to create further incentives for science-based goals. Ignoring scientific knowledge about climate change compares Alberto Carillo Pineda, director of the Carbon Disclosure Project, with the decision of a smoker to continue smoking despite knowledge of the risks and harms.

    The British benchmark index FTSE 100 and its Canadian counterpart SPTSX 60 do worst with 3.1 degrees Celsius each. For the evaluation of the indices it is crucial that the emissions of the index companies are covered by scientifically justified targets. The higher the proportion, the lower the temperature rating by the initiative. The car company BMW has joined the SBT initiative in order to make itself measurable. Deutsche Post and the technology group Bosch have also submitted to the review process in order to offer the public and investors more transparency in terms of sustainability. In the Dax, the share is highest at 60 percent, followed by the CAC40 of the Paris Stock Exchange with 35 percent and the FTSE MIB of the Milan Stock Exchange with 29 percent.The French and Italian benchmarks do the best with a temperature rating of 2.7 degrees after the Dax.

    According to the SBTi study, fossil fuels are the largest contributor to emissions. They make up 70 percent in the temperature rating of the Canadian leading index and 50 percent in the Italian FTSE MIB. The proportion of science-based climate targets is the lowest in the SPTSX 60 of the Toronto Stock Exchange at less than one percent. The leading London index comes in at 6 percent, the American stock index S & P500 at 15 percent and the Japanese Nikkei 225 at 11 percent. The S & P500 and the Nikkei 225 reach a global warming of 3.0 degrees each.