By Justin Worland September 28, 2024 10:23 AM EDT ( To get this story in your inbox, subscribe to the TIME CO2 Leadership Report newsletter here . ) This Climate Week, I did something crazy. In the middle of a packed week of panels, roundtables, and interviews in New York, I hopped on a plane across the country and spent a day at the MINExpo conference in Las Vegas for a forthcoming story. In the giant halls, alongside trucks the size of jet planes, companies gathered at the mining equipment conference promised to decrease their customers’ carbon footprints and allow them to operate their mines more sustainably. The public narrative around private sector climate action is one of deep skepticism. Many advocates have decried it as greenwashing, claiming that companies are using climate goals as a branding exercise. Many companies have pulled back their commitments, saying they no longer feel they are feasible. And businesses have grown reluctant to talk about their environmental work—fearful that it might cause backlash in conservative states and with a potential future Republican president. In Vegas, where the target audience was the sea of men in suits and company polo shirts who buy mining equipment, I couldn’t help but think something has shifted. For a variety of reasons, just outside of the public eye, the private sector continues to move forward on decarbonization. Corporate customers across sectors and geographies are demanding lower-carbon solutions, and the promise of continued regulatory pressure has not dissipated. Instead of focusing on splashy commitments, many companies are taking a grounded approach to chart an actual decarbonization roadmap. Over the course of the week, I heard similar messages over and over again from executives. George Oliver, CEO of HVAC giant Johnson Controls, said that emissions reduction had “become a core […]