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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., October 20, 2021 – The Linux Foundation’s OS-Climate has announced that Airbus and EY have joined its cross-industry coalition seeking to accelerate the global transition to net zero through open data and open source decision-making tools for companies, investors, banks, and regulators.  This follows the news in September that Red Hat (an IBM company) had joined and is contributing a world-class team of data scientists and developers to build the OS-Climate platform. Also announced is Airbus’ contribution of a scenario analysismodeling platform to analyze the clean energy transition.

“Every corporation and financial industry player is faced with major decisions that must quantitatively factor in scenarios of physical climate impacts and of the economic transition to net zero,” said Nicolas Chretien, Head of Sustainability & Environment at Airbus. “The aerospace industry, like many other sectors, is engaged in a transition which involves a deeper reorganization of its ecosystem. As such, it requires effective data and tools to better understand, assess and model interdependencies linked to climate risks and opportunities. I encourage other companies to join us, especially those who, like us, are committed to foster climate transition through innovation.”

“Many promising governmental and business efforts are underway to drive climate-aligned finance and investment,” said Steve Varley, Global Vice Chair – Sustainability, EY. “We believe OS-Climate’s transparent governance, enablement of large-scale multi-stakeholder collaboration, and exceptional community of contributors will be a game-changer at this moment of urgency. EY teams are looking forward to collaborating.” 

“Overcoming the complex data and analytics barriers to scaling up investment in clean energy and resilience is more than any one company or firm can achieve alone.  We are delighted that Airbus and EY are bringing their formidable capabilities to jointly build the common, pre-competitive foundation of technology and data that the entire business and finance community needs, and on top of which they can more quickly innovate and compete,” said Truman Semans, Executive Director of OS-Climate. 

OS-Climate is a collaborative, member-driven, non-profit platform hosted by the Linux Foundation for the development of open data and open source analytics for climate risk management and climate-aligned finance and investing. Membership has more than tripled since September 2020 from initial founders Allianz, Amazon, Microsoft, and S&P Global to include Premium Members BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, and KPMG, and General Members Federated Hermes, London Stock Exchange Group, the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, Ortec Finance, and Red Hat (an IBM company). 

OS-Climate’s Data Commons and Analytics will accelerate investment in low-carbon and resilient infrastructure for power generation, petrochemicals, manufacturing, buildings, and municipalities, as well as energy-intensive products such as aircraft and other  transportation vehicles.  The platform will also accelerate development of innovative financial products to better channel capital into these areas.  

Airbus Makes a Major Contribution with an Open Source Modeling Platform to Accelerate the Clean Energy Transition

Since Airbus knows the power of open source collaboration as a force multiplier and accelerator of technical solutions to complex problems, it is open-sourcing a modeling platform, developed to better understand the clean energy transition in the aviation industry. Working together with other OS-Climate members and partners in the academic community on Integrated Assessment Modeling and other fields, Airbus aims to expand this to enable climate-smart decisions across many other industries. 

Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of The Linux Foundation, said, “We are very pleased that an open source-savvy company like Airbus is contributing not only its valuable intellectual property but also a 15-person team of modelers and engineers as well as its experience in projects including Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger.”  Zemlin added, “With a flurry of initiatives claiming to be ‘open source,’ it’s essential for everyone in the climate space to watch for ‘openwash’ and combat the trend of locking up intellectual property that could best accelerate climate solutions through open collaboration.”

EY Brings Unique Strengths to the OS-Climate Community

“The Climate Biennial Exploratory Scenario (CBES) Pilot will shape the way dozens of central banks in the Network for the Greening of the Financial System (NGFS) integrate climate in stress testing by banks and other financial institutions,” states Mike Zehetmayr, EY Global Sustainable Finance Data and Technology Leader

“We look forward to working with the OS-Climate community in helping the industry to overcome data gaps, and in making it easier for financial institutions and corporate counterparties to disclose data, and in developing open source scenario analysis tools,” added Brandon Sutcliffe, EY Americas Sustainable Finance Leader.

OS-Climate Event at COP26

On 8 November, during the UN Climate Negotiations in Glasgow, OS-Climate will host an in-person and virtual event to demonstrate progress in building the OS-Climate Platform.  Moderated by United Airlines Board of Directors Member Jim Whitehurst, Airbus will reveal its SoSTrades models/WITNESS.

OS-C members will also present the initial Data Commons, an Implied Temperature Rise Tool for aligning investment and loan portfolios with Paris Accord targets, and a Physical Risk Tool for analyzing vulnerability to extreme heat, flood, drought, and other extreme threats and for enabling investments in resilience. PRI CEO Fiona Reynolds will open the event, former US Federal Reserve Board Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin will lead a panel of experts discussing how open data and analytics can accelerate climate policy efforts globally.

About Airbus

Airbus pioneers sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world. The Company constantly innovates to provide efficient and technologically-advanced solutions in aerospace, defense, and connected services. In commercial aircraft, Airbus offers modern and fuel-efficient airliners and associated services. Airbus is also a European leader in defense and security and one of the world’s leading space businesses. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions and services worldwide.

About EY

EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets. Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate. Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax, and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law where prohibited by local laws. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

About Linux Foundation

Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 2,160 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation’s projects are critical to the world’s infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, and more.  The Linux Foundation’s methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.

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Airbus Media Contact:
Daniel Werdung
Tel: +49 40 743 59078

EY Media Contact:

Brendan Beaver

Brendan.beaver@ey.com

OS-Climate Media Contact:

Truman Semans

TEL: +1-919-599-3660