Corporate net zero commitments are on the rise. By the middle of this year, one in three businesses in the Forbes 2,000 list had set a net zero target, up from one in five a year earlier (Net Zero Stocktake, 2022). Despite the rise in target setting, we are still not on track to reach global net zero emissions by 2050. A ‘conveyor belt’ of governance of Net Zero has emerged, ranging from voluntary action to binding regulation (Hale, 2021). Oxford Net Zero assessed 33 of these initiatives across the governance landscape to identify areas of convergence and divergence in terms of guidance offered to corporate actors.

In this session, we present finding from this research and bring in experts across the policy and voluntary initiative landscape to speak to how we can drive ambition in the non-state actor environment.

We will hear from Claire Perry O’Neill, former UK Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, on why regulation and policy is needed, and how to keep driving non-state actor ambition. Fiona Macklin, Race to Zero Campaign manager, will walk us through findings from the “Pivot Point” report and how voluntary climate action can build a clear roadmap to regulation. Finally, Kennedy Mbeva, Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Global Economic Governance programme at the Blavatnik School of Government, will speak on his experience of writing the recently published ISO guidelines for Net Zero as well as what is needed for stronger net zero policies to emerge.

Panel speakers will be:

• Kaya Axelsson, Policy Engagement Fellow, Oxford Net Zero (Chair)
• Alexis McGivern, Net Zero Standards Manager, Oxford Net Zero
• Claire Perry O’Neill, former UK Minister for Energy and Clean Growth
• Fiona Macklin, Race to Zero Campaign Manager, High-Level Climate Champions
• Kennedy Mbeva, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Blavatnik School of Government

The Report can be downloaded here. 

This event is hybrid. Sign up on Eventbrite and choose to attend in-person (at the Oxford Martin School, Oxford, UK) or online via Zoom.