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 Matters report presented at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, which was the result of a High-Level Expert Group chaired by Catherine McKenna, Former Environment Minister of Canada. The group was tasked with assessing what “good net zero” should look like for financial institutions, companies, cities and regions, i.e. non-state actors. The group drew on the knowledge of 17 experts for its assessment, one of whom was ONZ Fellow Dr Jessica Omukuti.
ONZ Fellows Alexis McGivern, Dr Matilda Becker and Kaya Axelsson were key contributors to the report, working closely with Catherine McKenna, Chair of the UN High-Level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments and Non-State Actors and CEO of Climate & Nature Solutions, and Vice President Jane McDonald. John Lang and Nick Hay of the Net Zero Tracker made essential contributions to the report’s messaging and graphics.
Earlier this year, UN Secretary General António Guterres requested an update on how non-state entities are progressing. The new report, entitled Integrity Matters: The Hard Work is Now, finds that there has been a huge proliferation of net-zero targets among non-state actors, especially in Asia, but that the majority of these commitments do not align with criteria that would make them credible. Many actors assessed in the report are not currently committing to phasing out fossil fuels, which is a particularly glaring omission.
As COP29 progresses, and as standard-setters work to close the integrity gap, states, regions, businesses, cities and financial institutions must all make and implement credible commitments in the drive towards net zero.
Download Integrity Matters: The Hard Work is Now.
Read more about Oxford Net Zero’s participation at COP29.
