Climate change is likely to become a major business driver over the next few decades as companies
come under intense pressure to decarbonise their activities. There is general acknowledgement in
government circles that the increase in global temperatures (above pre-industrial levels) must be
limited to 2o C by 2100. This will entail a global reduction in CO2 emissions of 50% by 2050 (against
1990 levels), with some developed countries, such as the UK, already committed to an 80% reduction
over this period [Committee on Climate Change, 2008]. To our knowledge no country has, as yet,
disaggregated these national-level carbon reductions into a series of sectoral targets. In theory these
targets should be related to the marginal cost of carbon abatement (MCCA) in different sectors. It is
not known how the MCCA of logistical activities is likely to compare to that of other business
activities. In absolute terms, however, the carbon footprint of logistics is likely to be much smaller in
2050 than it is today.
The World Economic Forum