Bain & Company partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) last year to accelerate corporate climate action in the Middle East and North Africa, a region that is set to be among those most affected by climate change.
The MENA region is estimated to be seeing warming at twice the global rate, with projections suggesting temperatures could be as much as four degrees warmer by 2050, and some cities in the region potentially becoming uninhabitable by the end of the century.
The region’s businesses can play a key role in helping to slow the effects of global warming with several quickly actionable measures, including embracing the transition to more climate-friendly practices, adopting global best practices, setting clear objectives, raising consumer awareness, and partnering with the government.
“While there are green shoots of corporate climate action across industries, the larger business community in the region needs to adopt consistent and transparent emissions disclosure policies and reduction targets,” Akram Alami, Partner and ESG lead for the Middle East at Bain & Company said in a statement while highlighting the existence of room for “substantial improvement”.
With a wider and more extensive public discourse needed on action to abate global warming’s impact on the region, the new partnership between the WEF and Bain & Company establishes a region-specific coalition to work alongside peers on tangible best practices, tailored to MENA and the unique set of circumstances it confronts.
Bain & Company evaluated more than 200 publicly listed and private companies, making up nearly 80% of the market value in their countries’ stock exchanges and private players from hard-to-abate sectors. Included were companies from sectors such as energy, chemicals, steel, and aluminum which a notoriously hard to abate when it comes to controlling climate change.
“We want to encourage action, and the best starting place for that is through discussions that are authentic to the region, tackling issues and inhibitors unique to MENA. Business can play a huge part in helping governments achieve their overall climate goals, and this is a hugely positive step on the way to doing that,” said Raja Atoui, Partner at Bain & Company Middle East.
Bain’s data shows some encouraging signs of progress, with key players in the market already taking steps to reduce emissions, increase renewables, and scale low-carbon technologies.
