EDITORIAL

A recent FAO report, Unjust Climate, which studied over 100,000 rural households in 24 countries over a 70-year period, confirms the extent to which climate change is statistically widening inequalities. Poverty and gender inequality are correlated with exposure to climate change impacts. The increase in climate disruptions and extreme weather events further undermines vulnerable populations exposed to the setbacks observed in terms of inequality since the beginning of the 2020s..

At the same time, ExxonMobil recently filed a lawsuit against two so-called active shareholders who proposed resolutions on its "scope 3" strategy, choosing a Texas court to take the sword instead of the usual proceedings before the Fed. Despite the withdrawal of the draft resolution in question, these shareholders continue to be prosecuted by ExxonMobil in a clear attempt to intimidate them through legal action. However, these issues could jeopardize the activities of companies or investors who turn a blind eye to these risks: regardless of the debates on the issue of double materiality, to omit them is short-sighted and clearly failing in one's "fiduciary" duty.

This illustrates that pockets of resistance reinforced by the political and geopolitical context will prevent part of the economy from committing to the necessary transformation towards fair decarbonisation. And this despite the fact that time is running out, in view of self-perpetuating climate processes: according to the latest IEA report, droughts have slowed down hydroelectric production and prevented an overall reduction in GHG emissions.

Conclusion? It is imperative that we make a resolute commitment to setting up multi-stakeholder programs within everyone's reach, enabling concrete, multi-dimensional impacts: climate adaptation, the fight against inequalities, biodiversity protection, food and water security, action on GHGs, etc.

We look forward to working together on these issues,

Raphaël Hara, Managing Director