Read: Working together with a common purpose will help tackle climate change

As scientists issue a final warning on the climate crisis, every country and every sector has been urged to fast-track efforts to tackle it before it is too late.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of the world’s leading climate scientists, has delivered the final part of its huge report. It is seen as the most up-to-date assessment of the impact of the climate crisis - how well the world is managing to mitigate disasters and adapt to those that are now unavoidable. There’s no new science in it but it pulls together key messages from its preceding work that form an essential guide for governments. It’s likely to be the last report from the IPCC this decade and certainly the last assessment of its kind while the world still has a chance of limiting global temperatures rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Beyond that, damage to the climate will quickly become irreversible. Each incremental amount of warming that can be avoided is crucial, especially for the most vulnerable – those least responsible for global warming but who will feel its impact the most.

The report makes clear that avoiding worsening outcomes will mean making rapid cuts in fossil fuels, with no new infrastructure for oil, coal or gas. In some sectors like agriculture, aviation, shipping and industrial processes, this will be difficult and net zero will only be achieved by the deployment of carbon removal from the atmosphere.  It calls on governments to increase their public funding for climate funding and give clear signals to investors, with central banks and financial regulators also playing a part. It argues that changes driven by consumers - for example diet, food waste and switching to low carbon transport - can help to cut emissions in many sectors. It also recommends that technology, knowledge and policy measures should be shared to help communities avoid being locked into carbon-intensive futures.

The latest report has been called a summary for policymakers. National governments have accepted its findings and agreed to incorporate them into their response to the climate crisis. The British government responded with a call for countries to work together with far more ambitious climate commitments ahead of COP 28, the international climate summit set to be held in the UAE in November. It will be the first opportunity for each country to give an update on its progress in cutting down emissions.

With COP 28 taking place in Dubai - fast becoming a business and financial services hub - the UAE has set out to show that it is taking its role very seriously. It is seeking an international profile as the Gulf’s most proactive nation on climate action and understands the need to diversify its economy away from oil.It was the first in the region to set 2050 as its net zero goal and at COP 27 was the first to announce absolute emission cuts. This next summit has the potential to be the biggest yet and it is a huge opportunity for the UAE to drive forward the world agenda. 

As part of that, it has also launched a global initiative to ensure that young people’s voices are heard, and that they are at the heart of policy-making on climate change. The International Youth Climate Delegate Programme will focus on including their perspectives, building their skills, capacity and knowledge to engage in climate processes, especially in the most impacted countries and provide a model for youth inclusion for the COP process.

The UK Government has pinned its level of aspiration to the mast but every organisation, business, community and individual will have to give serious thought to their own ambitions and review how they can go further, faster. The Purpose Goals provide a framework to encourage a common approach and greater impact on equality of opportunity, based around key life stages and the barriers that prevent people from getting on. Goal 13 is focused on harnessing the energy transition and net zero, ensuring that it’s fair and creates opportunity across the country, with investment in the green economy which results in new careers. It’s an integral part of the conversation about levelling up.     

Purpose-led organisations which are intent on making a positive social impact, particularly for the most disadvantaged, can play a leading role in shaping a response. Purpose Coalition members like Centrica, bp, UK Power Networks and SMS, with energy as their core business, are investing heavily to achieve net zero as organisations but also to help others achieve it through their work with colleagues, customers and communities. That extends to the work they are doing on education and early careers, to inform and encourage young people into STEM careers so that the country has the right skills to take forward the innovation that will be required to meet the challenges on climate change. SMS aims to deliver the future of smart energy by investing in and optimising the energy infrastructure that drives carbon reduction. 

Other partners in the Purpose Coalition, across sectors, have also put a fair energy transition at the centre of their social impact ambitions, from defence company Leonardo which has integrated environmental issues into its business strategy with a sustainability plan that covers research, technology and innovation to food services company Sodexo which has a huge focus on food waste to Solent University which is now fully divested from fossil fuels and whose purchase of electricity is all from renewable sources.

The message is that the world has the toolkit - the knowledge and technology - that will help to achieve genuine change but is not using them enough. The way in which organisations tackle climate change should be the same as the way in which they manage their social impact, though sharing best practice, creating effective partnerships, driving innovation and measuring their progress is the same way that they can contribute to tackling climate change. 

As the COP Presidency has acknowledged, it’s also vital that young people are included in the debate on their future. The Purpose Coalition’s work has shown that they are clear that they want prospective employers to align with them on environmental matters and employers will need to be able to demonstrate a commitment to going further faster if they are to attract the best talent. The stakes are incredibly high but the opportunity is there to build a fairer society in the process, one that will work for everyone.