OOO joined the Belgian Alliance for Climate Action (BACA)

DECEMBER 2020 – JOINING THE BACA MEANS COMMITTING TO TAKE CLIMATE ACTION. THE START OF OUR JOURNEY TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.

The crisis we are experiencing confirm the urgency of protecting our planet and controlling global warming. This is why we joined the Belgian Alliance for Climate Action (BACA), an initiative of The Shift vzw / asbl and WWF-Belgium in order to learn good practices, to exchange knowledge with other organizations and to share with our clients to achieve the climate objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Organisations need to take more ambitious climate action now

The Paris Climate Agreement was signed by governments. But as things stand, the nationally determined contributions from all signatory countries are insufficient, and will lead to a temperature increase of more than 3°C compared to pre-industrial levels. This gap highlights how important it is for private sector organisations to take their own responsibility as key players in the fight against climate change. Greater action is needed.

• We have reached the end of the warmest decade ever recorded. The planet is currently 1.1°C warmer than during the pre-industrial era. Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere were 18% higher in the 2015-2019 period compared to the previous five years.
• The world is far from on track to meeting its commitments under the Paris Agreement to keep global average temperatures well below 2°C, let alone the much safer 1.5°C.
• The urgency is only increasing. The world is already feeling the impacts of climate change, and the cost of mitigation and adaptation measures continues to rise with every year of inaction.

We will only be able to make the transition to a net-zero economy if we work together

Organisations of all sizes should share their best practices, so none of us have to reinvent the wheel. By pooling knowledge, companies, non-profit/non-governmental organisations and academic/research institutions can save time and resources, inspire each other and ensure a real sense of cooperation in this crucial domain. By coming together, we start a movement that enables organisations of all sizes to contribute to reducing emissions worldwide.

Climate action based on science is the most effective way to guarantee
the required effect

• GHG emission reduction targets must be in line with the commitments of the Paris Agreement. Climate science tells us that global temperature increase must stay well below 2°C, preferably even 1.5°C if we want to prevent irreversible damage. Only through accurate carbon accounting and climate action that is based on science can we measure progress towards our individual and collective emissions reduction targets, and unlock support from internal and external stakeholders.
• The global carbon budget (the GHG emissions that humanity has emitted since the start of the industrial revolution) is the scientifically agreed-upon instrument that enables the world to engage in effective climate action. Scientists base themselves on this budget to estimate the budget we have left to keep the average global temperature increase below 1.5° / 2°C.
• Looking at climate science allows us to measure the gap between what is needed and what we are currently doing, to mobilise efforts that will collectively limit global warming with the least negative impact.
• By basing a GHG emissions reduction target on the global carbon budget, an organisation can contribute consistently to the decarbonisation trajectory that is necessary for its sector, and plan transparent and meaningful reduction pathways.
• Following widely used global GHG accounting standards (such as the GHG Protocol) allows an organisation to make progress that is both verifiable and comparable. This is important to ensure buy-in from the organisation’s stakeholders, partners and investors for its sustainability actions.

Our actions

Sources:
https://www.belgianallianceforclimateaction.org