One of the rights we have as people is to be able to have a clean and healthy environment in which to develop a life in dignified conditions and well-being. However, . Trying to stop environmental deterioration and ensure the health of the planet is something that concerns us all. But we do not have the same responsibilities in the degradation of the environment and ecosystems nor are we equally affected by the impacts of the climate emergency.
The most vulnerable groups on the entire planet are those who suffer with special intensity the effects of the climate crisis, for which it represents another serious consequence of inequality. In fact, the climate emergency and the crisis are two sides of the same coin and represent two of the main challenges we currently face as humanity. To reduce inequality, a change of course in climate policy is necessary and to fight climate change it is essential to first look at those who pollute the most.
It is necessary to focus on A recent study of the equivalent of a third of the total emissions of Spain and more than double the emissions of Catalonia.
Faced with this reality, the question that immediately arises is: and what are they doing about it? In the last year, these companies reduced their direct emissions, that is, those derived from their activity, by only 3% at an aggregate level. This means that if they continue at this rate of emission reduction, it would still take 33 years to decarbonize their activity. Too much time for any kind of emergency. In the case of those included in the study, the pace is not much higher, a 4% reduction in their direct emissions between 2022 and 2023, which implies that the decarbonization of their activity would take 25 years, also an excessive period.
It is fair to admit that the decarbonization effort varies greatly from company to company, and while others continue to increase them. But at the end of the day, the air in which this pollution ends up is the same, and it is what we all breathe. For this reason, the commitment to decarbonization of large companies must be firm, but it is essential that it be shared to prevent a few from continuing to profit from carrying out polluting activities at the expense of harming the rest of us.
Miguel Alba He is a researcher on inequality and companies at Oxfam Intermón
