McDonald's Targets Net Zero Emissions By 2050

McDonald's Corp. on Monday set a new target to cut global greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, from the beef in its burgers to the light bulbs in its restaurants, Hillary Russ reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: A McDonald's branch in Orlando, Florida

The burger chain also said it was working with the nonprofit Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to revamp its existing climate change targets. It aims to lower absolute emissions by about a third for both its suppliers and its nearly 40,000 company-run and franchised restaurants around the world by 2030.

"We're trying to send a signal to our partners, to our investors, to our suppliers, to other brands in the global community, to policymakers, that we share that vision for 2050," McDonald's Chief Sustainability Officer Jenny McColloch told Reuters in an interview.

United Nations scientists say the world's net emissions must fall to zero by 2050 to limit the rise in global temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius versus pre-industrial levels.

Net zero plans require companies to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and offset any remaining emissions using projects that capture the gas. More than 1,000 companies have signed similar pledges through the UN or SBTi.

On Wednesday, funds managing nearly $30 trillion in assets called for 1,600 of the world's most polluting companies to set science-based emissions targets as wildfires, droughts, and floods make slowing climate change more urgent.

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