News and events
Events
Net Zero Policy Network webinar: Mandatory transition plans
Event date: June 18, 2024
June 18th, 15:30 to 16:30 BST/16:30 to 17:30 CEST Hosted by the Net Zero Policy Network, this webinar will feature speakers from the Transition Plan Taskforce, companies writing and financing transition plans, and researchers studying the ... Read more
Launch of the Net-Zero Policy Network
Event date: April 9, 2024
Oxford Net Zero and Normative launch the Net-Zero Policy Network to catalyze clear, fair, and aligned climate policy and action. 9th of April, 2024 16:30 – 17:30 CEST / 15:30 – 16:30 BST Register here. The Net-Zero Policy Network will ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero at COP28
Event date: December 2, 2023
The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) is being held in the UAE from 30 November – 12 December. The Oxford Net Zero community is mobilising its collective expertise to help drive ambition. Our dedicated ... Read more
Seminar: Net-Zero: Policies and Politics
Event date: February 14, 2024
Net Zero pledges by countries, cities and organizations are now omnipresent. How can these commitments be operationalised in a credible, fair and effective manner? At this event hosted by Kellogg College, we will take a closer look at the ... Read more
Webinar: Designing net zero governance: The moment for multilateral governance and national regulation
Event date: October 4, 2023
Wed, 4 Oct 2023 14:00 - 15:30 BST, Weston Library Lecture Theatre, Oxford, UK and online Designing net zero governance: The moment for multilateral governance and national regulation Sign up on Eventbrite. National net zero commitments ... Read more
Webinar: Learning across global regions: Comparing climate marketcraft in developing countries
Event date: September 20, 2023
Wed, 20 Sep 2023 14:00 - 15:30 BST, Learning across global regions: Comparing climate marketcraft in developing countries Sign up on Eventbrite. Local climate action benefits from learning across national cases, as there are valuable ... Read more
Latest news
New Oxford Report: Carbon Capture and Storage Without Taxpayer Billions Is Possible
Oxford Net Zero and Carbon Balance researchers reveal the risks of the current UK CCS policy mix and explore how a carbon storage mandate on fossil fuel producers could help the UK meet its climate targets while protecting public finances A ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero partners with AXA XL on research in India, Mexico and Kenya
Oxford Net Zero is excited to announce that it is working with the insurance company AXA XL, the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society (InSIS), and the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment to conduct research on private sector ... Read more
Finance, Fossil Fuels and $10 coffee: Reflections on COP29
As we begin a new year, Oxford Net Zero looks back on the highs and lows of November's climate summit in Baku. In some ways, this COP was different. The venue was smaller than in previous years, which meant that attendees could have genuine ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero announces affiliation with Reuben College
Oxford Net Zero is pleased to announce an affiliation with Reuben College. This new strategic partnership will allow us to collaborate more closely on environmental change, which we are both working to address as a core objective. Professor ... Read more
Using natural carbon sinks to offset emissions will not stop global warming, scientists say
As the COP29 negotiations continue, a new study published today in Nature demonstrates that protecting and maintaining natural carbon sinks, while vitally important, will not compensate for ongoing fossil fuel use. Natural carbon sinks such ... Read more
ONZ Fellows contribute to progress report for UN Secretary General
A new report, published today at COP29 in Baku and presented to the UN Secretary General, details the progress that non-state entities are making towards high-integrity net zero commitments. The report is a follow-up to the 2022 Integrity ... Read more
Job opening: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Carbon Accounting
The School of Geography and the Environment and the Department of Earth Sciences are recruiting a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Carbon Accounting to work on the Net Zero Aviation project. This position involves researching carbon ... Read more
Young climate leaders funded by Oxford Net Zero and SSEE to attend COP29
The inaugural cohort of Global Youth Climate Training (GYCT) Programme bursary recipients will arrive in Baku, Azerbaijan in the coming days, ready to participate in their individual streams of work at COP29. The GYCT, a collaboration between ... Read more
What just happened at COP16?
This is an abbreviated version of a longer piece originally published on the Nature-based Solutions Initiative (NbSI) website and reproduced here with permission. It was written by Prof Nathalie Seddon (Oxford Net Zero Co-Investigator), Dr ... Read more
Serviced emissions: Placing professional services at the heart of Net Zero
This piece was originally published by the Smith of School of Enterprise and the Environment. Republished with permission. As our world races against time to halve global emissions by 2030, a critical and overlooked catalyst is ... Read more
Call for participants: “Unlocking the power of youth to develop equity in net-zero governance”
Oxford Net Zero's Engagement Team have an open call for youth aged 18-35 years old to participate in a new 8-month long research project to embed equity criteria into net-zero governance. There is perhaps no single demographic that will be ... Read more
Net Zero Stocktake 2024 launches at New York Climate Week
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 ... Read more
Job opening – Data Lead: Net Zero Tracker (NOW CLOSED)
Please note that this opportunity is now closed. This is an exciting opportunity to be at the heart of the project providing crucial data for assessing net zero commitments around the world – https://www.zerotracker.net. The Net Zero ... Read more
Findings from Scope 3 workshops hosted by Oxford Net Zero and Grantham Institute at Imperial College London published
The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) is the largest validator of corporate net-zero targets, representing nearly 40% of the global economy by market capitalisation, through assessment against its Corporate Net Zero Standard. In April ... Read more
Job openings: three new post-doc roles researching net zero aviation (now closed)
The School of Geography and the Environment and the Department of Earth Sciences are recruiting three Post-doctoral Research Associates (PDRAs) to form a cohort of researchers working on net zero aviation. The roles are: Post-Doctoral ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero report assesses the voluntary standards landscape
Oxford Net Zero’s Engagement Team have released a new report today, comprehensively assessing guidance for net zero across 37 different guidance documents, disclosure instruments and assessment frameworks. The team developed more than sixty ... Read more
Job Opening at ONZ: Youth Climate Training Assistant
The Oxford Net Zero Engagement Team (based at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment) is looking for a motivated individual to support the team 8 hours a week for 12 weeks (96 hours in total) in the second delivery of the Youth ... Read more
Onshore geological carbon storage has potential in the UK, but key knowledge and regulatory gaps remain – ONZ report
A new report by a team of Oxford Net Zero researchers reviews the current state of knowledge on onshore geological carbon storage (GCS) and its feasibility in the UK. Read more
Oxford launches revised Offsetting Principles
As part of their net zero strategies, many companies, organisations, cities, regions and financial institutions are relying on voluntary carbon credits to offset their residual emissions. But evidence continues to cast doubt on the integrity of ... Read more
Job Opening at ONZ: Impact and Operations Officer
Oxford Net Zero is looking for a highly organised and motivated Impact and Operations Officer to join its team. You will be working alongside the Programme Manager, Cath Ibbotson, and the Head of Policy and Partnerships, Kaya Axelsson to ... Read more
Net Zero Regulation Stocktake Publishes Results
A new report published by Oxford Net Zero presents a comprehensive ‘stocktake’ of developments in net-zero regulation across the G20 in 2023. It focuses primarily on four regulatory domains: claims and financial products standards, disclosure, ... Read more
New ONZ report on rolling out renewables in the Global South
The scaling up of clean electricity, and using it to decarbonise other parts of the economy, is central to all decarbonisation pathways. In their latest report, “Rolling out renewables in the Global South”, Oxford Net Zero’s Sam Fankhauser ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero at COP28
The Oxford Net Zero community is mobilising its collective expertise to help drive ambition at COP28, being held in the UAE from 30 November – 12 December. Read more
ONZ is hiring: join us as a Research Assistant to remap the net zero voluntary initiatives landscape
Oxford Net Zero has an exciting opportunity for two Research Assistants to join the team from January 2024 to support our net zero standards re-mapping project. Joining ONZ's Engagement Team, the Research Assistants will work alongside Kaya ... Read more
Net Zero Regulation Stocktake
Net Zero Regulation StocktakeNET ZERO REGULATION STOCKTAKE: What does the road to Net zero look like? Regulations related to the transition to net zero are already in place in a number of jurisdictions and are recommended by the United ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero launches autumn webinar series
Join us this autumn for a series of webinars led by Oxford Net Zero fellows! Read more
Professor Myles Allen appointed Fellow of the Royal Society
Professor Myles Allen appointed Fellow of the Royal Society Read more
Oxford Net Zero is Hiring – Join as Fossil Fuel Fellow
Oxford Net Zero has an exciting opening for a Research Fellow on Net Zero for the Fossil Fuel Sector and non-stipendiary Research Fellowship at Kellogg College. We are seeking to appoint a Research Fellow on Net Zero for the Fossil Fuel Sector ... Read more
ONZ Fellow Dr Conor Hickey awarded visiting fellowship at Harvard Business School
Oxford Net Zero Research Fellow Dr Conor Hickey has today been announced as one of five 'Business in Global Society' Visiting Fellows at Harvard Business School's Institute for the Study of Business in Global Society (BiGS). Dr Hickey of the ... Read more
Global Youth Climate Training Programme to launch in May 2023
Applications for the Global Youth Climate Training Programme to open in May 2023 Read more
Download Oxford Net Zero’s new Programme Summary
Download Oxford Net Zero's new Programme Summary Read more
CO2 removal is essential, along with emissions cuts, to limit global warming – report
Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) from the atmosphere is crucial to limit global warming, in addition to rapid cuts to emissions - that is the stark conclusion of today’s first Oxford-led State of Carbon Dioxide Removal report. Read more
Climate goals can be achieved at affordable cost, if fossil fuel producers pay for carbon clear up – Oxford-led study
Climate change could be constrained by implementation of policies to ensure fossil fuel producers pay for carbon clear-up, or capture, according to new Oxford-led research, published today in Environmental Research Letters. Read more
Oxford Net Zero is Hiring – Join Our Engagement and Impact Team
The Engagement Team at Oxford Net Zero is looking for three new research assistants to start in February 2023 to support our growing work programme on net zero policy, civil society engagement, and communications. We are looking for energetic, ... Read more
New ONZ report on Net Zero Commitments by Businesses in Africa
ONZ fellow Dr Jessica Omukuti has undertaken a stocktake study on net zero commitments by Africa’s largest publicly listed companies. For the report, the team gathered data on the emission targets of Africa's 250 largest publicly listed ... Read more
ONZ contributes to new global guidelines for clarity on net zero action at COP27
The ISO publishes the Net Zero Guidelines to support all actors and organisations to reach their net zero goals, with expert contribution from Oxford Net Zero. Read more
New HLEG report provides clear guidance on Net Zero for cities, regions and corporations
New UN HLEG report provides clear guidance on Net Zero for cities, regions and corporations. Read more
Oxford Net Zero at COP27
Lovely to meet you at COP27! We are here representing Oxford Net Zero, an interdisciplinary research group at the University of Oxford. Our group is made up of anthropologists, geophysicists, biologists, lawyers, political scientists and more. ... Read more
The Science, Origins and Implications of Net Zero – new research paper
A new research paper by Myles Allen and colleagues explains the science behind the drive for global net zero emissions and why this is needed to halt the ongoing rise in global temperatures. Read more
Oxford Net Zero publishes report on the Voluntary Net Zero Initiatives Landscape
Oxford Net Zero researchers have produced a report of 33 voluntary initiatives across the governance landscape to identify areas of convergence and divergence in terms of guidance offered to corporate actors. Read more
Oxford Net Zero contributes to report ‘The Pivot Point’
Oxford Net Zero researchers have contributed several sections and a full chapter to a new report, The Pivot Point. Read more
Prof Myles Allen to deliver Net Zero lecture series as Visiting Professor of the Environment at Gresham College
Prof Myles Allen to deliver Net Zero lecture series as Visiting Professor at Gresham College Read more
New Net Zero Global Stocktake finds that major credibility gaps remain in net zero targets
Analysis that draws upon the Net Zero Tracker database of over 4,000 entities shows that major credibility gaps remain in global national, regional, city and corporate net zero targets, despite global consensus on net zero placing targets under intensifying scrutiny. Read more
Prof Myles Allen appointed Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment at Gresham College
Professor Myles Allen, Director of Oxford Net Zero and professor of Geosystem Science at the University of Oxford, has been appointed Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment by Gresham College, London's oldest Higher Education ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero Engagement Team is Hiring Research Assistants
Spring and Summer Research Assistant Opportunities with Oxford Net Zero The Oxford Net Zero Engagement Team, working out of the Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment is seeking research assistants to support with the development ... Read more
5 Key Takeaways from Oxford Net Zero Policy Masterclass
On 9 March 2022, the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment (SSEE) and Oxford Net Zero (ONZ) held a joint masterclass on policy interventions for accelerating the transition to net zero, hosted by Apolitical. This ... Read more
Net zero business or business for net zero? A report on corporate climate leadership practices on scope and offsetting
A new report (PDF) outlines how companies considered sustainability leaders, at the forefront of net zero ambition, are defining and managing their Scope 3 emissions, and using credits, sinks offsets, and insets to compensate emissions or ... Read more
The Oxford Net Zero Engagement Team is Hiring
The Oxford Net Zero engagement team is growing with two job posts open now: Read more
The Carbon Club revisited: Harnessing enterprise and trade to decarbonise the global economy
In this new paper (PDF) by Bethan Adams, Kaya Axelsson and Adam Parr, a Carbon Club is proposed, consisting of states that are considering a Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA). This would include the EU, the UK, Canada, Japan, and the US, which ... Read more
7 Attributes for a Successful Net Zero – read Oxford Net Zero’s new Nature Climate Change paper
The Oxford Net Zero team has authored a new paper, published in Nature Climate Change, on 'the meaning of net zero and how to get it right'. The readiness with which a growing number of countries, sub-national entities and ... Read more
Governing Net Zero: the Conveyor Belt
Download the policy memo (PDF). In this policy memo, Thomas Hale, Associate Professor in Global Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and co-investigator at Oxford Net Zero, outlines what the next steps for an effective net ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero to launch global online course on net zero for public servants
We are delighted to announce that Oxford Net Zero will be developing a net zero online course for public servants, in collaboration with Apolitical and The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford. The ... Read more
“1.5 °C by 2100” in the draft decision text
By Professor Myles Allen, University of Oxford and Coordinating Lead Author, Chapter 1, Framing and Context, IPCC Special Report on 1.5 °C, 2018 As one of the relevant Coordinating Lead Authors on the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C (SR15), I ... Read more
A special message from Prof Myles Allen to the school strikers at COP26
Professor Myles Allen, Director of Oxford Net Zero, has delivered a special message to the school strikers at COP26. You can read his letter to the school strikers in The ... Read more
Coldplay to use Oxford Offsetting Principles for unavoidable tour emissions
Global British band Coldplay have pledged to drawdown any unavoidable emissions of their upcoming tour according to the Oxford Principles for Net-Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting. Coldplay said: "We pledge to make our upcoming Music Of The ... Read more
UK Net Zero Strategy: Oxford Net Zero academics respond
The government has today (19 October) released its Net Zero Strategy, setting out policies and proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy to meet the UK’s net zero target by 2050. Our academic experts at Oxford Net Zero have ... Read more
CO2 removal is essential to achieving net zero
By Dr Steve Smith, originally published by University of Oxford news on 23 September 2021. Photo: Climeworks. The Orca plant in Iceland. Dr Steve Smith is executive director of the Oxford Net Zero Initiative and the CO2RE hub, which is ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero to Co-host a Climate Neutrality Forum: Register Your Interest
Bringing together leading researchers, policymakers and practitioners working on achieving climate neutrality, the meeting will take place simultaneously at four hubs – Berlin, Milan, Brussels and Oxford – linked together to create a blended ... Read more
Getting net zero right, a tool kit.
The term 'net zero' and the practical application of the frame for individual entities has been subject to fierce debate and contention in the last weeks and months. The science is clear that we must get our world to a state of net zero ... Read more
Climate change: what G7 leaders could have said – but didn’t
By Myles Allen. Originally published on The Conversation, 15 June 2021. Featured image: /Getty The four-day G7 summit in Cornwall ended with little cause for celebration from anyone worried about climate change. Most of the pledges that ... Read more
Carbon dioxide lasts for centuries – so should carbon offsets
By Tim Kruger. Originally published on The Conversation, 4 June 2021. Featured image: Christian Roberts-Olsen/Shutterstock Carbon dioxide, once emitted into the atmosphere, stays there for hundreds of years. When someone uses an offset to ... Read more
Professor Myles Allen on BBC Radio on taking the ‘net’ in net zero seriously
Myles Allen argues it is irresponsible not to take the “net” in “net zero” seriously, because we need to stop climate change before the world stops using fossil fuels. Offsetting emissions with forestry or other nature-based solutions can help, ... Read more
The Race to Zero strengthens and clarifies campaign criteria with support of Oxford Net Zero
Originally posted on the Race to Zero site by climate champions | APRIL 29, 2021 As net zero commitments proliferate, the refined criteria outline the minimum standard for initiatives of businesses, investors, cities, regions and ... Read more
Developing countries need to chart their own course to net zero emissions
By Navroz K. Dubash, Harald Winkler, and Lavanya Rajamani. Originally published on The Conversation, 5 May 2021. Translating complex climate science into language people understand has always been difficult. At various times, the aim of ... Read more
Majority of Americans Covered by a Net Zero Target: Policy Opportunity for the Biden Administration
Climate policy in the United States is at an inflection point. A new Oxford Net Zero report demonstrates that for the first time, a majority of Americans live in a jurisdiction with a net zero emissions target. Furthermore, US companies ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero Is Recruiting Fellows!
We are delighted to announce several new roles as part of the new Oxford Net Zero Initiative. The University is investing £2.2m in this transformative new programme, bringing together its world-leading expertise across Geography, Physics, ... Read more
COP26 Universities Network Briefing on Carbon Offsetting
How can carbon offsetting help UK further and higher education institutions achieve net zero emissions? Download the Briefing Paper There are a range of views on the use of carbon offsetting among academics, higher and further education ... Read more
Launched: ICC SME Climate Hub – Action Tools for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
The SME Climate Hub has joined forces with Oxford University to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with tools and resources to help them take climate action. Ahead of the 5th anniversary of the Paris Agreement signing, the freely ... Read more
Oxford Net Zero: Understanding What It Will Take to Halt Global Warming
With Joe Biden in the White House, 2021 could be the year the world embraces net zero: but universities still have work to do to turn a trendy phrase into meaningful action to halt the climate crisis. If it weren’t for Covid-19, the annual ... Read more
Net zero emissions targets are everywhere – we need to sort the genuine from the greenwash
By Steve Smith and Tim Kruger. Originally published on The Conversation, 4 June 2021. Featured image: Olivier Le Moal/Shutterstock The last 12 months have been marked by the misery of the pandemic and the accompanying economic contraction. ... Read more
Fossil Fuel Companies Know How To Stop Global Warming. Why Don’t They? – Myles Allen
Oxford University climate science scholar Myles Allen presented this Ted Talk at Countdown: a global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The fossil fuel industry knows how to stop global warming, but they're waiting for ... Read more
Oxford Launches New Principles for Credible Carbon Offsetting
The University of Oxford has launched new principles for credible carbon offsetting to provide guidelines to help ensure offsetting actually helps to achieve a net zero society. Carbon offsetting is a widespread tool in efforts to achieve ... Read more
Five Tough Questions To Ask About Reaching Net Zero Climate Targets
The groundswell of net zero targets good news for the Paris Agreement [...] Ultimately, however, the atmosphere responds to outcomes, not announcements. The truth is that significant uncertainty surrounds the outcomes of these targets. Anyone setting a net zero target – and the citizens, activists, consumers, and investors holding them to account – therefore needs to ask the following questions. Read more
Conference of Parties Delayed To 2021 – Informal Dialogues To Be Held November 2020
On the same week when nations around the world would have come together to negotiate climate ambition this year, a series of voluntary, informal dialogues will be held between leaders of industry and government as well as with youth activists on how to set ambition in the lead up to the global convening the following year. Read more