When Piketty came to India
Thomas Piketty, the French economist and author of the famous book Capital in the Twenty First Century, was recently in India. He delivered a lecture on the state of inequality globally as well as in India.
India has been identified as one of the top three countries in reporting, setting targets, and reducing carbon emissions. The country ranked behind only China and Brazil. However, despite this achievement, overall global progress remains slow.
A global survey by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and sustainability management platform CO2 AI has released the data. The report, titled ‘Boosting Your Bottom Line Through Decarbonisation’, highlights that 12% of Indian companies are reporting their emissions, compared to a global average of 9%. Furthermore, while 16% of companies worldwide have set emission reduction targets, India surpasses this with 24%.
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In line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, 15% of Indian companies are actively reducing emissions, exceeding the global average of 11%. It reveals that global figures for carbon emissions reporting, target-setting, and reduction have fallen compared to 2023.
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This comes against the backdrop of 2024 being officially recorded as the hottest year in history, with this summer surpassing last year’s heat levels.
It shows that companies are financially benefiting from decarbonization efforts. At least 25% of businesses reported gaining annual decarbonization benefits exceeding 7% of their revenues, translating to an average net benefit of $200 million per year. The study found that companies leveraging AI for emission reduction are 4.5 times more likely to succeed.
As per the survey, AI enhances sustainability efforts by automating routine tasks, enabling teams to concentrate on strategic initiatives like reducing emissions and creating value.
It gathered insights from 1,864 executives overseeing their companies’ efforts in measuring, reporting, and reducing emissions. The participating companies spanned 16 major industries, with annual revenues ranging from $100 million to over $20 billion, collectively responsible for around 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions covering 26 countries.
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