Time - USA (2022-04-25)

63

Many companies have made promises to mitigate the climate crisis, but few are doing anything meaningful enough to meet the severity of the threat. We must hold companies and elected leaders accountable—and we need to work together. Systemic change is needed to protect our planet and support thriving communities. Business leaders must address the root causes of the climate crisis to achieve that change, and we have committed to doing so in a number of ways. One is by committing to eliminating virgin petroleum sources

by 2030 and invest- ing in substantive re- moval and reduction in supply- chain emissions, in alignment with science-based targets. It’s also important for companies to evaluate their financial partners and commit to those who are contributing most to the global energy transition. Not all solutions will come from the corporate world. Companies should work with grassroots groups to support the communities most affected by the climate crisis. We can help to protect nature by supporting Indigenous and

Current
approaches
to producing
food and other
agricultural
commodities
are contributing
to ecosystem
degradation,
growing income
inequality, a
climate crisis,
vulnerable farm
communities, and
unequal access to
healthy food.
Regenerative
agriculture prac-
tices, which focus
on revitalizing
natural systems
and ensure
that equity and
social justice are
prioritized, have
the potential to
simultaneously
solve many global
challenges.
Adopting them will
require existing
efforts to become
more joined up.
We must take
a holistic
approach to the
food system
that prioritizes
equitable
economic
prosperity,
allowing both
people and the
planet to flourish

in the long term, rather than short-term profit and productivity growth. Through the Growing Our Future initiative, we are opening the conversation to historically underserved farm communities, building new connections. We are also centering our work on the principles of racial justice and social equity, alongside environmental incentives and outcomes. Creating the conditions for systemic change is essential. Beyond supporting regenerative farming practices, we are fostering alignment and greater collaboration on policy and finance. Regenerative agriculture should be embraced as an essential tool to address climate change and inequality around the world.

contribute to a sustainable future is to help one another understand the impact of our behavior on climate change and the environment. For example, mandatory food labeling shows the ingredients and level of nutrition, which enables us to assess how healthy the food is and make choices on that basis. Climate labeling allows us to assess how healthy a given product is for the environment and make informed choices. In the same vein, when banks make decisions about granting loans, they need to know about the environmental impact of their investments. So introducing reliable, comprehensible, and globally comparable disclosure requirements is important, for both the economy and the financial sector. As a central bank and supervisor, the ECB pushes banks to man- age and disclose their climate- related and environmental risks. This motivates them to ask businesses to do likewise. Increasing transparency is key so that we can value our natural resources in our daily economic, and personal, decisions. I believe this will help better allocate our money to reducing CO 2 emissions and generating a positive impact on the environment. Let’s get this done before 2030.

CLIMATE LABELS

AS COMMON AS

FOOD LABELS

IRENE

HEEMSKERK

Headofthe Climate Change Centre, European entralBank

EMBRACE REGENERATIVE

AGRICULTURE TO ADDRESS

SUSTAINABILITY

HOLD COMPANIES ACCOUNTABLE

SALLY UREN

CEO,

Forum theFut

Our existence relies on the food we eat and clean water to drink. We often take these things for granted. Yet climate change poses a threat to these most precious assets, an impact frequently neglected in our daily decisions and often undervalued or absent from economic assessments. To protect these natural resources, we must adapt our behavior and start valuing them. One solution to empower us to

RYAN

GELLERT

CEO, Patagonia

community-led efforts to restore land and water to sequester carbon and provide resiliency for people and biodiversity. Lastly, we must end corporate doublespeak: your company’s politi- cal contributions and business affiliations should not sabotage the legislative work being done to tackle the climate crisis.