48 FORTUNE APRIL 20200
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2018246810BILLION METRIC TONS
OF CARBON PER YEARGLOBAL FOSSIL
FUELS EMISSIONSSOURCE: GLOBAL CARBON PROJECT. INCLUDES CEMENT PRODUCTIONA PLANET IN CRISIS : BUSINESS AT A TURNING POINTGlobal Carbon Project, emissions hit a new record of
43.1 billion metric tons in 2019—the third straight year of
increases. If unaddressed, CO 2 -driven warming is likely
to alter life on earth in dramatic ways over the coming de-
cades, and to come with a price tag of trillions of dollars in
lost economic output. Finding solutions to this potentially
existential threat is imperative.
There’s no getting around the fact that business, up to
this point, has been a big part of the problem. Companies
have flooded the planet with refrigerators, SUVs, and
plastic soda bottles for decades, with little thought to the
consequences beyond the bottom line. They’ve feasted on
cheap energy from burning fossil fuels, and their lobbyists
have battled legislation to incentivize change.
But there are signs that we may be reaching a turning
point. The business world—far later than it should have,
and still not as aggressively as it needs to—is finally begin-
ning to face up to the climate crisis.
“I do think we’re seeing some exciting momentum,” says
Helen Mountford, vice president for climate and eco-
nomics at the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global
research organization focused on sustainability. “Nowhere
near enough, but there is meaningful change.”
As an example, Mountford points to the statement in
December from 631 institutional investors managing more
than $37 trillion in assets, urging governments to phase
out coal power, put a price on carbon, and end subsidies
for fossil fuels. Then there is the growing number of large
companies around the world—826 at last count—that have
taken on increased accountability for their own actions
by signing up for “science-based targets” to reduce their
carbon emissions under strict monitoring by NGOs.
Companies are responding to a new set of vital needs. In-
creasingly, consumers want to know they’re spending money
with businesses that are on the right side of sustainability.
And talented recruits are demanding that employers dem-
onstrate their commitment to mitigating climate change.
Not to mention that there are huge amounts of money to be
made. As part of a project called the New Climate Economy,
Mountford and her team calculated that there’s a $26 tril-
lion economic opportunity in moving to a low-carbon
economy. “Now is the moment to start to reboot,” she says.
In the pages ahead, we explore the complexity of this cru-
cial juncture for business and the planet. To get an inside
perspective on how advocacy is shaping corporate behavior,
we turned to author and activist Bill McKibben. In partner-
ship with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, we sent
reporter Vivienne Walt and photographer Sebastian Meyer
to Malaysia to investigate the struggling plastic recycling
industry. And we asked veteran energy writer Jeffrey Ball to
explore Big Oil’s high-stakes bet on carbon capture.
There are no guarantees when it comes to tackling
climate change. But if business takes it one unmet need at
a time, the possibilities are endless. —Brian O’KeefeINT.W.04.20.XMIT.indd 48 FINAL 3/10/2020 8:18:07 PM