Survey Finds Increasing Corporate Attention to Climate Change
Climate change seems to be climbing the corporate agenda. An annual survey called the Carbon Disclosure Project — sponsored by a group of more than 90 institutional investors that collectively control some $10 trillion in assets — received nearly three times more responses this year than last year. Companies described their efforts to curb greenhouse-gas emissions, control business risks connected to climate change, and develop new business opportunities related to climate change. The survey enforced the conventional wisdom that European firms are acting more aggressively on the issue than U.S. companies, but the latter appear to be closing the gap. Of some note was the fact that ExxonMobil, which last year ignored the survey, this year gave responses that “were intelligent and thorough, and suggest they have changed their position,” said a project spokesperson. “The world’s most powerful investors have an obvious reason for wanting to avert climate change. It would devastate their wealth,” said James Cameron, chair of the project.
