Climate action now relies on credible data, shared emission factors and sector-wide collaboration.
COP30 did not produce a breakthrough on fossil fuel phase out, food systems or industrial decarbonisation. It did, however, confirm something that matters even more for real world transition. The global climate agenda has entered a phase where implementation is limited not by political will, but by the quality of the data systems that support decision making. The negotiations reminded the world that climate action now depends on what happens far from Belem or Bonn, in supplier networks, in industrial ecosystems, and in the emission factor databases that sit behind every footprint and transition plan.
In other words, the next decade will be defined by the ability to understand and act on Scope 3. This is where risks accumulate, where value is created or lost, and where most decarbonisation levers are located. Yet Scope 3 is also where methods diverge, where data is weakest and where many sectors still lack the shared foundations required to move forward.
Scope 3 is no longer a reporting category, it is the architecture of the real economy
The majority of climate risks, emissions and opportunities sit in Scope 3. This is not a new observation, but COP30 made it impossible to ignore. Without credible Scope 3 data, countries cannot plan industrial strategies, financiers cannot price transition risk, and companies cannot prioritise their action plans. The real economy does not decarbonise in the margins. It decarbonises in materials, components, transport systems, energy use during product lifetimes and end of life management.
This is why Scope 3 represents both the greatest opportunity and the greatest obstacle. The opportunity lies in unlocking high impact levers such as material efficiency, product design, supplier engagement and lifetime optimisation. The obstacle lies in the fact that most sectors still operate with incomplete emission factors, inconsistent modelling practices and fragmented data that prevent comparability.
Emission factors are becoming strategic assets
Every climate decision depends on an emission factor. The choice of materials, the design of a component, the comparison between technologies, the prioritisation of investments, the evaluation of supplier performance or the creation of a roadmap, all rely on a value that represents the impact of something. When these values are inconsistent or incomplete, decisions lose integrity.
Across our mandates, we see three recurring issues.
- Companies do not know which emission factors to trust or how to interpret differences.
- Suppliers have limited capacity to generate high quality data that can propagate through value chains.
- Sectors lack shared reference factors that allow actors to compare themselves on a common basis.
The consequence is predictable. Organisations spend more time reconciling methods than reducing emissions. Scenarios shift depending on the analyst. Stakeholders struggle to understand what drives the numbers. Most importantly, strategic decisions are taken with uncertainty that could be avoided.
Building reliable, transparent and sector aligned emission factor databases is therefore not a technical detail. It is the foundation of credible transition plans.
Why LCAs at scale will become indispensable
COP30 highlighted again that the global economy will not transform through national pledges alone. The transition will happen through products and services, which means it will happen through life cycle choices. LCAs are currently used as diagnostic tools, but their role is about to expand. In the next decade they will become:
- standard inputs for industrial strategy
- decision tools for procurement and design
- comparison tools for financiers and regulators
- the basis for credible Scope 3 action
To play this role, LCAs must become scalable, consistent and interoperable across companies. This is only possible when sectors agree on common rules, shared data structures and transparent modelling choices.
The rise of sectoral, pre competitive initiatives
Many sectors still work in isolation. Each company builds its own dataset, its own model and its own interpretation of Scope 3. This is inefficient and slows everyone down. The most strategic sectors will move toward pre competitive collaboration, because only collaboration can produce:
- shared emission factor libraries
- agreed modelling conventions
- aligned supplier questionnaires
- data processes that reduce reporting fatigue
- clear, comparable baselines for transition planning
These initiatives create a level playing field. They reduce duplication and accelerate the ability of an entire branch to act. They also generate a collective clarity that no organisation can produce alone.
This is the direction in which we see the most progress. Sectors that organise themselves early gain an advantage. They shape the standards that will later become the norm. They secure better data from suppliers. They build trust from regulators and investors. And they move faster because they no longer have to reinvent the wheel for every project.
Earth Action often plays the role of the motor in these initiatives. We support sectors in structuring their data, aligning their methods and creating the conditions for collaboration. The aim is not to create additional reporting, but to build the shared foundations that allow actors to make better decisions and implement credible transition plans.
Supplier engagement is now the decisive frontier
No organisation can deliver Scope 3 reductions alone. The majority of impacts, and of opportunities, sit with suppliers. This means that future transition plans will depend on the ability to:
- obtain reliable data from suppliers
- support suppliers in improving their own footprinting capacity
- harmonise requests to avoid fragmentation
- identify hotspots that require redesign or substitution
- create incentives for suppliers to innovate
This is not a communications exercise. Supplier engagement is a technical, operational and strategic discipline. It requires clear rules, transparent data and shared guidelines that suppliers can work with. Sectoral initiatives can dramatically simplify this process, which is another reason why collective action will define the next phase of climate progress.
A single paragraph on COP30 outcomes, to anchor the context
COP30 did not deliver a fossil fuel phase out, nor did it provide clarity on food systems or industrial cooperation. It did however consolidate global momentum on adaptation, reassert the centrality of science, and elevate information integrity as a condition for effective climate action. More importantly, it confirmed that the negotiations are no longer the place where implementation barriers will be resolved. These barriers live in data, methods and supply chains, and this is where the world must turn its attention.
If your sector has not yet begun this work, now is the time to lead
The sectors that will succeed in the next decade will be the ones that build the shared foundations of transition early. If your industry does not yet have a common methodology, if suppliers still struggle to provide usable data, or if emission factors vary from company to company, this is an opportunity to take the lead.
Earth Action can accompany you in structuring a pre competitive initiative, designing aligned methodologies, building shared emission factor databases or organising supplier collaboration. Our role is to bring the rigour, neutrality and scientific backbone that allow sectors to move from fragmented efforts to coordinated progress.
Conclusion
COP30 made one truth impossible to ignore. The world cannot implement what it cannot measure. Scope 3 is where the transition will be won or lost, and the data systems that support it are the most strategic infrastructure of the next decade. Building them is not an accounting exercise. It is the foundation of industrial competitiveness, financial stability and climate credibility.
The next phase of climate action will belong to those who invest in clarity: clear methods, clear data, clear priorities. The sooner sectors organise themselves around this reality, the faster they will turn ambition into impact.
