The world's largest businesses are aiming to achieve only about half the recommended goal for greenhouse gas reductions, according to a study released Tuesday by the Carbon Disclosure Project.
The study by the Britain-based group showed that 100 major companies, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nintendo Co., are targeting a 1.9 percent annual reduction against the 3.9 percent cut considered necessary to cut emissions in developed countries by 80 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels.
The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change has recommended an 80 percent percent cut to avoid dangerous global warming. The CDP warned that the pace of emissions cuts by major companies shown in the study would see them reach the reduction levels recommended by the IPCC only in 2089.
The organization also pointed out that a majority of the companies have yet to set targets for after the 2012 expiration of the Kyoto Protocol, which is to be replaced by a new climate protocol at a U.N. conference in Copenhagen in December.