World's largest companies make major carbon-cutting pledges

Carbon-cutting pledges of many of the world's largest companies would together take a big bite out of global greenhouse gas output, a new tally shows.

Driving the news: BloombergNEF analyzed the pledges of 111 companies with net-zero targets on the "focus" list of companies held by Climate Action 100+, an investor network that pushes corporations on climate.

Why it matters: Through August, 111 companies of the 167 companies on the list had targets that would cut 9.8 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent by 2050, or roughly one-fourth of global emissions today.

Yes, but: While ambitious long-term pledges have become the coin of the realm in big companies' boardrooms, the degree of tangible steps that follow these targets is uncertain.

• "As more net-zero targets are set by corporations, the conversation will change from one focused on quantity to one around quality," said Kyle Harrison, BloombergNEF's head of sustainability research.

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