WBCSD outlines plan to close emissions gap

Under the Paris Agreement, 50% of global emissions must be reduced by 2030.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has unveiled plans to accelerate emissions reductions as part of efforts to align with the Paris Agreement.

WBCSD members and their value chains are responsible for 15.05 Gt CO2e, about a quarter of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Collectively, they have set public targets that would cut 1.72 Gt CO2e by 2030, an 11% reduction from their 2022 baseline. This would bring emissions down to 13.33 Gt CO2e by the end of the decade.

However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said global emissions must fall by 50% by 2030 to stay on track with the Paris Agreement, leaving WBCSD members facing a 5.8 Gt CO2e gap between their current commitments and the required reductions.

To close this gap, WBCSD will launch the Emissions Reduction Accelerator (ERA), a delivery mechanism designed to strengthen and speed up decarbonisation across value chains. ERA will not replace existing projects but will connect and scale the council’s ongoing efforts in capability-building, innovation, and collective action.

The group said it will also establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure ERA’s impact, with pilots set to run from 2026 to 2030. Details of the ERA Action Plan will be published in due course.