MANILA, Philippines — Any path to decarbonization must go through net-zero. However, like any other climate goal, this road is filled with roadblocks. 

The Net Zero Conference 2024, the first of its kind in the Philippines, explored strategies to empower the private sector in adopting low-carbon practices and business models towards achieving this state. 

Even without a national net-zero commitment, the conference showed that businesses can already take steps to position themselves to decarbonize for the next few decades. For example, event organizer Net Zero Carbon Alliance highlighted that some of its members are now enabled to compute their value chain emissions, while others reported lowering their direct emissions by as much as 35% in the past few years. 

However, some participants expressed concerns that such reports may be acts of greenwashing. Others pointed to factors such as lack of policy guidelines, immaturity of sustainable technologies, and high costs that may limit the impact of implemented strategies.

The best policy?

It is vital to understand that net-zero is a long-term goal. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body composed of climate scientists, set a 2050 deadline to attain global net-zero for carbon dioxide emissions to limit warming to 1.5°C.

It is also important for the Philippine government to provide the policies and mechanisms to support the private sector to pursue decarbonization. For example, many enterprises lack the capacity to measure their value chain emissions or how much pollution has been removed through natural sinks, both of which are necessary to eventually be verified as achieving net-zero.

Recently, the government has taken such measures, including publishing its NDC Implementation Plan and proposing the creation of a carbon pricing framework and system. However, more analysis is needed to determine if these are the best ways to spur low-carbon development while also reducing both the sector’s climate risks and the potential externalities of their practices.    

Aside from the steps from achieving net-zero emissions, another key aspect is for businesses to properly communicate their progress on this journey. It is vital to follow the most recent standards for assessing the implementation of relevant strategies, base decisions on the best-available science, and exhibit transparency and accountability in engagements with all stakeholders.

For a country that identified its NDC as an aspirational investment strategy, the last thing the Philippines needs is to be known as a laundromat full of greenwashing machines. On the road to net-zero, honesty is the best policy for businesses to follow.