We Believe:
The global scientific community is united in recognizing the urgent need to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because of the role they play in climate change, a real and rapidly growing threat to society and the planet. The impact of climate change is already widespread across both human populations and natural ecosystems. Addressing climate change, and the GHG emissions that contribute to it, requires urgent action and long-term commitments by every segment of society, including the business community. Strategies to reduce GHG emissions, such as setting and meeting aggressive reduction goals, are far more effective over time than attempting to remediate each natural and humanitarian disaster that results from climate change. A combination of technology innovation, market-based policies and evolving consumer habits are necessary to reduce GHG emissions and achieve global climate goals, such as those outlined in the Paris Agreement and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.
As a scientific leader, DuPont has an important role to play in this global effort using technology innovation. We focus our research dollars and scientific talent on developing technologies and materials to:
· enable low-carbon energy generation,
· improve energy efficiency across multiple sectors such as transportation and construction, and,
· reduce GHG emissions along the value chains for a wide range of processes and products.
To make rapid progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining sustainable growth and minimizing costs/impact to society, it is essential to maintain consistent, predictable policy and regulatory environments that foster innovation, investment and economic growth.
We Support Climate Policies That:
· Achieve net GHG reductions through sustainable science and innovation practices to maintain energy affordability through improved efficiencies, while also developing solutions for low-carbon and circular economies.
· Engage global stakeholders from all sectors of society to encourage integration of national and regional climate and energy policies while still providing adequate flexibility to fit local, national or regional circumstances.
· Maximize impact by addressing the largest GHG reduction opportunities first, using the most cost-effective alternatives.
· Establish transparent and predictable economic incentives that facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
· Acknowledge the role renewable and bio-based feedstocks can play in creating essential products and solutions while minimizing carbon emissions.
· Encourage the recovery, reuse and recycle of materials in a reduced-emissions circular economy.
· Support both mitigation and adaptation strategies that include life-cycle considerations.
· Include transparent monitoring, reporting and verification systems (MRV).
We agree with the principle that an economywide price on carbon is the best way to use the power of the market to achieve carbon reduction goals, in a simple, coherent and efficient manner. Markets will also spur innovation and create and preserve quality jobs in a growing low-carbon economy.
We are Acting on Climate Change:
We will establish sustainability goals to support the transition to a clean low-carbon economy using the UN Sustainable Development Goals on Affordable and Clean Energy (7) and Climate Action (13) as our inspiration.
We support the Paris climate agreement and will use our voice in the debate to advocate for climate action as demonstrated by our support for the “We Are Still In” campaign and our participation in the CEO Climate Dialogue.
· We publicly and transparently report our climate risks and low carbon opportunities through the CDP Climate questionnaire for the benefit of our customers and investors. Our submissions are located on the DuPont Sustainability Reporting page.
· We actively pursue energy efficiency and conservation programs at our locations across the globe.
· We signed the Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers Principles.
We partner with customers and suppliers to drive sustainable innovation to reduce GHG emissions in our value chains across our businesses. Below are just a few examples of our contributions to a low-carbon economy. Visit dupont.com for more examples and details:
· Reducing energy intensity in the transportation sector by providing materials that enable automotive light weighting and electrification.
· Enabling more energy efficient building through sustainable insulation and building systems.
· Introducing renewably sourced alternatives to petroleum-based products, using plant protein and providing solutions to reduce food waste.
· Facilitating the recovery, recycling and re-use of our products in diverse industries to lower their GHG impacts.
We are committed to bringing our best thinking, fervent action and scientific innovations to market, supporting both the mitigation and adaptation actions needed to address the impacts of climate change.