Investigative priorities for climate change reporting

Jim Footner - Director

Current trends: How are corporates responding to demands for climate policy?

• Context - Climate has exacerbated the global inflation crisis, which in turn has had a chilling effect on the pace of climate policy

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• Net zero is king - around a third of the largest global corporations now have net zero targets
• Net zero pledges largely rely on questionable technologies and market mechanisms that are yet to exist at scale
• IOCs and fossil fuel adjacent industries are part of a sophisticated network of influence that seeks to shape global and local climate policy
• Middle eastern petrostates and their NOCs have increased their engagement in global climate affairs, engaging beyond the UNFCCC process

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Emerging trends: who gets to design the regimes that will govern the low carbon transition?

• Heavy industrial sectors - how will they respond to regulation that challenges existing business models?
• What role will corporates play in climate ‘culture war’ debates?
• The credibility of net zero: corporate pledges, political commitment, and the role of hidden actors in designing transition regimes
• How and where will NOCs seek to safeguard a market for their fossil fuel products?

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Future trends: Who will be the winners and losers of the post oil transition?

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