The Net Zero Tracker (NZT) has today launched its 2024 Net Zero Stocktake at Climate Week NYC. Oxford Net Zero Co-Investigator Professor Thomas Hale, who co-led the report, spoke on the panel at the event, which took place at the UN General Assembly’s Goals House. The panel also included Karin Svensson, Chief Sustainability Officer of Volvo Group; Professor Mateus Simões, Vice-Governor of Minas Gerais, Brazil; Jen Austin, Strategy and Policy Director at UN Climate Change High-Level Champions; former MP Lord Alok Sharma; Angel Hsu, Associate Professor of Public Policy and the Environment at the University of North Carolina-Chappell Hill and Director of Data-Driven Envirolab; and climate journalist Maeve Campbell.
NZT’s annual assessment of the intent and integrity of global climate commitments shows only a modest increase in net zero targets set by subnational governments (states and regions, and cities) in the past year. As the climate crisis accelerates, it is clear from this year’s assessment that there is a commitment gap across cities, states and regions, and that this gap is holding back the necessary economy-wide transition.
The report finds that more than 40% of major non-state and subnational actors still have no emissions reductions targets, despite an increase in the number of companies, cities and regions with net zero targets since the previous Net Zero Stocktake was published in June 2023. Camilla Hyslop, Net Zero Tracker Data Lead, said: “The large number of entities that continue to opt out of the globally-agreed mission to curtail climate change leaves their home countries and global supply chains highly vulnerable to transition risk. By incentivizing and supporting companies and sub-national governments to set rigorous net zero targets and plans, countries can boost the credibility of national climate goals.”
Cities, states and regions have wide-ranging authority to establish and enforce policies and regulations. The report calls on them to use this authority in the service of clear net zero plans.
The authors did see positive signs in the data from some subnational governments of major emitting countries (for example, in India, the United States and Mexico). However, on measures of integrity, there has been only a limited improvement in national, subnational and company net zero strategies in the past 18 months. The Stocktake finds an increasing number of robust non-state (regional, city and company) net zero targets and implementation plans, but with persistent gaps – and slow progress in net zero target integrity across all non-state entity types over the last two years. The quality of the net zero commitments, measured against accepted integrity criteria, is only met by up to 5%, 4% and 3% of companies, cities and regions, respectively.
Dr Steve Smith, Executive Director, Oxford Net Zero and CO2RE, said: “It’s two years since the UN Secretary General launched a report into net zero pledges, saying ‘we must have zero tolerance for net-zero greenwashing.’ And yet our findings show barely any improvements. Fewer than five percent of all the pledges by cities, regions and companies meet all our criteria for integrity. That number has risen by just 1% since last year. But there are a few bright spots of leadership around the world. Ambitious and honest action is possible. We point to examples in our report, with the hope that there will be many more in the near future.”
Thomas Hale, Oxford Net Zero Co-Investigator and Professor of Global Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, said: “Net zero leaders may now be grappling with the hard work of implementation, but they are in a far better place than those who, remarkably, have yet to position themselves for a successful transition. Major companies that have yet to set a net zero target are a time bomb for their employees and investors and a mounting financial risk for the economy overall – as well as the planet we all live on.”
Read more and download the 2024 Stocktake here.
NZT is an independent research consortium comprising the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), Data-Driven Envirolab, the NewClimate Institute and Oxford Net Zero. The 2024 Stocktake was led by Sybrig Smit of the NewClimate Institute and Professor Thomas Hale. NZT is led by John Lang of the ECIU.
Photo credit: Goals House.
