The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a grim but unsurprising reminder of the catastrophic impact of global warming on our planet. The message from leading climate scientists is clear: we need to act now. Not tomorrow, not next year, not by the end of the decade. Even drastic carbon reductions today, limiting temperature increases to the 1.5°C agreed in Paris, will forever change the world we live in. The IPCC has concluded that every fraction of a degree more will push us towards tipping points that will leave deep scars on our planet. While much has been said about the damage to weather patterns, crop yields and coral reefs, less well understood is the impact of a warmer world on our health. The reality is that the climate crisis is the biggest health crisis of our time, even bigger than Covid-19. Heat-related deaths are expected to triple by 2050. Currently, 7 million people die prematurely each year from air pollution, more than the number of deaths during the entire pandemic. There has been a rise in chronic diseases linked to air pollution, and evidence suggests that it is also increasing the incidence of cancer. Lung cancer and respiratory-related deaths linked to air pollution have increased by 30% over the past 160 years, and cause genetic mutations in some genes linked to lung cancer. The toll on loved ones, public health and the economy is large and growing. Poor health is estimated to cost the global economy 15 % of global GDP. It is not just oil companies, car companies and airlines that are to blame. Healthcare alone contributes 5 % to global greenhouse gas emissions, up to 8 % in advanced economies. Investment in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is now proven beyond doubt to equal or outweigh the economic benefits of healthier populations, says the IPCC. Investors are increasingly targeting those companies that are taking bold, science-based action to mitigate climate warming. While it is the right thing to do, it also makes business sense. Decarbonising the economy is an opportunity and a driver of growth, which is why the pushback against environmental, social and governance investments is so misguided. As we have seen during the pandemic, science will find its way, ingenuity will prevail and be rewarded accordingly. At my company, AstraZeneca, we are on track to meet our targets: to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions – emissions from fuel combustion and energy use – by 98 % by 2026; to halve our absolute total emissions across our value chain by 2030; and to achieve net zero by 2045. We have also planted millions of trees as part of a large-scale afforestation and biodiversity restoration programme.

Pascal Soriot