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Opinion | How China’s fight against climate change is finding allies in the business sector
- Wang Shi says China’s booming private sector has been upping its role in the fight against climate change, with the real estate industry making some pioneering moves
Reading Time:3 minutes
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When the history of the early 21st century gets written, 2018 may prove to have been a turning point when the world finally woke up to the threat of climate change. The public and policymakers alike paid attention when a team of the world’s leading scientists produced a stark warning that we have just 12 years to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by nearly half.
Natural disasters from typhoons to heatwaves and forest fires gave us a glimpse of what could become commonplace if we miss that target. And the year closed with governments in this fractured world coming to rare agreement on global climate action at the UN climate conference in Poland.
At the same time, another powerful and influential sector has also been responding to the climate crisis – the global business community.
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Around the world, businesses are voluntarily taking steps to lead the way to a low-emissions world. The most recent and bold example is that of the world’s largest container shipping company, Maersk, announcing plans to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Make no mistake, without actions such as this from the world’s major companies, we will not be able to avoid the environmental and social devastation climate change could bring.
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