Q&A: KPMG’s Corporate Decarbonisation Focus at COP29

Ahead of going to his first COP, Simon Weaver, Global Head of ESG and Sustainability Advisory at KPMG, shares his insights with Sustainability Magazine.

Please introduce yourself and your role

I’m a Partner at KPMG based in the UK, but with a global role as Global Head of ESG and Sustainability Advisory.

There are two key parts to my role:

First, how do we embed sustainability or ESG into everything we do at KPMG? How do we make sure that sustainability is part of the conversation every time we turn up to a client? To be totally frank, that's not the case today and that's why it's such a big push for us. We recognise that where we can have a huge influence on the ultimate aim of decarbonising the end to end economy around the world is in every bit of advice we give, taking sustainability into account.

The second is helping clients deal with the challenges that come with becoming a more sustainable business, and helping them find the value creation opportunities. The mindset that we've had is one that needs to be tweaked to enable us to go on the next stage of the sustainability journey.

I've been at KPMG my whole career. I am a chartered accountant and was an audit partner up until about five or six years ago, which I think is helpful because it means I understand where a lot of board members are coming from. Having spent more than 10 years in boards, I understand that they come at it from a very financial lens and need to be able to quantify the value or or the risk associated with decisions – and I think that's something that a lot of sustainability professionals struggle with at times.

It's about collaborating and convening both with the experts within KPMG and externally to help us to drive it forward from a corporate perspective.

Let’s talk COP29

My big focus at COP29 is corporate decarbonisation.

Where are companies today, and where do we need to get to? How do we drive a different conversation than the one we're having today? I haven't been to a COP before, and I think it's going to be an interesting one.

A lot of businesses aren't going to this COP, and I think a big, big reason for that is because they're not quite sure what they would say about their own corporate decarbonisation. That's why I think it's really important for us as KPMG to make sure that that debate is had with the corporations and the other stakeholders that are there. I think as we look towards Brazil and COP30, we've got a lot we can do this year.

We need to make sure we don't lose that momentum from the last few COPs.

I think there is this feeling around that it's preparation for Brazil’s COP30.

But as a result, what I don't want to happen is a feeling that other corporates aren't turning up so they’re stepping away from sustainability goals etcetera. I think it would be really dangerous if that is the rhetoric that comes out.

Three years ago most companies didn't really understand what they're doing around decarbonisation and response to climate change. They now have a much better understanding of what that is, but they know it's going to be really hard.

They did set targets, which probably now are unrealistic or could be unrealistic unless big things happen around policy and and regulation.

But they absolutely want to lean in –  there's not a board that I talk to that doesn't want to deliver on their targets. It's just they're not sure how.

I think that the year up to Brazil should be really focused on those tough questions and two or three of them that we can start to work on, collaborate across sectors within sectors to try and get to those answers.

What has been the transition from COP28 to COP29 and what can we expect before COP30?

I wasn't at COP28, so COP29 will be my first COP in-person. I’ve always been an observer before and and seen the outputs, but I want to get stuck in and see see how the conversations are had. There are so many different things going on. 

There was a rhetoric in COP26 of 'we've just been through COVID, we've seen how the world can adjust and change so we’re going to change the world'.

I think the fact is, leaders over the last year have been focused much more on, 'OK, well, how do we actually do this?'

The leaders that I work with have been very quiet in the last year because they're inwardly trying to think about how to deliver these messages, and what to do. We now have some idea of the level of investment that's needed, so leaders are asking:

• Is that realistic?
• Can we prioritise that across all of our other investments?
• How will that land with investors?

I'm interested to see how this plays out at COP because you've got lots of stakeholders in one place.

I also want to see four or five things that we're going to really focus on between COP29 and COP30 – I think there needs to be a continuous momentum.

What regulatory developments do you hope to see from COP29?

I'd love to see regulations that are focused on helping companies deliver on their goals. 

I know that's a very simple thing to say, but so many of the regulations at the moment focus on the reporting side and there's now a need for regulations to help deliver on those action plans.

What advice would you give to people looking to make the most out of their time at COP29?

My two key words are honesty and collaboration. I think there's probably something around not trying to do too much. We need to keep it simple and prioritise, looking at what the biggest things are that could make a difference by the time we get to COP30 in Brazil. 

There are thousands of things that we'd love to happen – but what are the two or three that we really need to happen and how do we all hone in on that collectively?

I think for those outside of COP, who aren’t attending in person, its about using the resources that companies like KPMG are putting out there – like webinars.

What do you think the role of oil and gas leaders is at climate action events like COP?

I personally work with a number of oil and gas companies.

My view is, when you look at the energy mix of today and where it is going to move in the next 5-10 years, oil and gas is going to play an important role in the global economy. Therefore, it's really important that those oil and gas companies are on board and are part of the solution rather than seen as a problem. I can't see a solution in the next 5 to 10 to 15 years that doesn't involve them.

Looking at the last few COPs and where they've been held, there has been a focus on trying to sort of involve them and include them in the conversation because I think it would be easy for them to lean out, and I think that wouldn't be the right answer.

I think the challenge – looking back to the financial side of things – is unfortunately the oil and gas companies that are probably less focused on sustainability are the ones with higher returns and higher valuations at the moment. Therefore getting oil and gas companies to stick with it is again really, really important.

To get to the answer, we need them as part of the solution.

Why is mindset so important when it comes to climate change action?

One of my biggest concerns – and it's not so much a COP concern, but broader – is that people start to see climate change as a threat, not a challenge. When boards hear things like greenhushing and greenwashing, it is often considered a threat to reputation. If something is seen as a potential threat, people start to lean out.

Thinking back to COP26, everybody saw it as a really exciting challenge that everybody could get behind. We need to make sure we continue to see it as a challenge rather than a threat.

Too many boards are having conversations about the things that they can't control or influence, because that's the bit that scares them. Whereas actually if you come back and say "what can we control?" you've got no excuse. 

This comes back to my role – at KPMG, we can have our biggest impact through embedding sustainability in every piece of advice that we provide, which is something that we have control over and can manage.

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