Did you hear? Shell, BHP Billiton, and GE are going to advise governments on climate change… Well yes, this issue isn’t quite free of the fear of hidden agendas and yes, these are strategic business opportunities for these firms. But do you remember the times when climate denial and then climate silence was an acceptable mainstream opinion for large corporates? When the solution-oriented pragmatists and negotiators couldn’t get a word in edgewise?  This is not to say it’s all peachy just yet but let’s celebrate the progress that has happened so far and encourage innovative and evidence-based solutions for clean development and improved quality of life for all on a sustainably healthy planet.

Along the same lines: the number of firms that are actively pricing carbon internally has also gone up: 150 firms globally used an internal carbon price in 2014 – in 2015 the number is 437. Microsoft appears to be leading the charge on how to do so effectively but they are no longer considered to be some eccentric in a bubble of Seattle fog but more and more firms have adopted a scheme or have at least started talking about a theme. Whether it’s their very own realization that has set in that this is the right thing to do or peer pressure, it doesn’t matter. Implementations of such internal schemes so that they lead to not only company wide adoption but also buy-in will take time but as a start, there are more companies and individuals who have moved into the implementation stage rather than questioning the concept’s validity. – For those interested in the source data on a company by company basis, there is a wealth of information available at the CDP.