A recent study has found that the majority of climate targets set by corporations for ESG purposes aren't based in science but, rather, self-defined emissions goals that often fall short of what is thought to be needed to meaningfully address climate change, said Bloomberg.

The study came from the Science Based Targets initiative, a coalition of groups including the United Nations and the World Wide Fund for Nature. It found that only a fifth of the more than 4,200 companies based in Group of 20 economies have signed up to science-based reporting. The group defines "science based" targets as those that are  in line with what the latest climate science deems necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to well-below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. 

Instead, said the report, it seems most companies rely on self-defined targets, which the group says are not enough, and give the impression that such pledges by companies are largely hollow PR exercises. 

The report found that, in terms of basing emissions targets on science, the UK and France are doing the best, while the U.S., Canada, Italy and Japan are lagging far behind; the worst, though, were Saudi Arabia, Russia and Indonesia, where none of their companies use science-based targeting.