Net Zero Tracker

AMENDED DATE & TIME! See below for updated details 👇 Our recently launched #NetZero Good Practice snapshot has sparked plenty of useful debate - to continue this, we would like to invite you to a briefing: https://lnkd.in/evTSfgzJ WHEN: 10:30-11:30 AM GMT, Wednesday 11th December 2024. WHO: - Alexis McGivern, Net Zero Standards Manager, Oxford Net Zero, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment - University of Oxford - Frederic Hans, Senior Policy Advisor, NewClimate Institute - John Lang, Net Zero Tracker Project Lead, Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit Registration details are below: https://lnkd.in/e3ytVqDj Hope to see you there! Emily Faint Shana Gallagher Louisa Durkin Catherine McKenna Jane McDonald David Carlin Gus Bartholomew (Leafr 🌿) Ketan Joshi David Vetter Matilda Becker

The incremental progress in the integrity of corporate climate targets was a salient issue at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. This article from Mary P Foley at Forbes cites Net Zero Tracker data from the 2024 Stocktake explaining that just 5% of corporate climate mitigation plans meet the UN integrity criteria. Foley’s article discusses approaches to incentivising corporate climate action, such as linking executive pay to climate targets, which is an area we capture data on when tracking the Forbes Global 2000. See more below: https://lnkd.in/eBwb6wZ6

Net Zero is complicated. What defines a credible net zero strategy for a company? Fortunately, here is a great resource from our friends over at Net Zero Tracker. A side-by-side, comparison of the criteria from five initiatives on what 'good net zero' entails - covering pledges, transition plans, offsetting, hard-to-reduce emissions, and more. It highlights convergences in principles (the ‘what’ of good net zero) and specifics (the ‘how’ of good net zero). It covers: - 'Integrity Matters' recommendations by the UN Expert Group on Net Zero - Net Zero Guidelines by ISO - International Organization for Standardization - Race to Zero criteria by the High-Level Climate Champions - Corporate Net-Zero Standard by the Science Based Targets initiative - Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor by NewClimate Institute - A landscape review of net zero standards by Oxford Net Zero Repost and follow Gus Bartholomew (Leafr 🌿) for more

The G20’s last net zero hold out, Mexico, has announced a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), committing to reach a net zero economy by 2050. Manish Bapna, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council has described this pledge as “a model for others to follow” and sets “an important benchmark” to assess the credibility of forthcoming pledges from similarly high emitting countries. Jose Luis Samaniego, director general of the Mexican Institute for Ecology and Climate Change has added that the “message” of this target is “even more important,” because “we are also seeing very concerning political messages signaling setbacks in climate leadership around the world.” Whilst the target promises much-needed momentum, our assessment shows the target should be improved in key areas; such as by publishing a detailed plan, setting conditions for the use of offset credits, and setting separate targets for emission reductions, and removals. Follow the link below to exactly how Mexico’s targets is assessed against our integrity metrics below:   https://lnkd.in/eX8skN5W

⏰ Only 1 Day Left! Join us tomorrow for the webinar: Unlocking Net-Zero Success: Actionable Insights from a Net-Zero Industry Leader Post-COP29 🌍 Date: November 26th Time: 2 PM GMT What to expect: 💡 Key takeaways from COP29 on transparency and accountability for national and corporate net-zero commitments. 💡 Emerging trends net-zero target alignment with scientific benchmarks 💡 Insights from Net Zero Tracker on improving carbon offset transparency and tracking metrics for net-zero progress. Speakers: John Lang, Project Lead at Net Zero Tracker. Prasad Gollakota, CFA, MAICD, Chief Content Officer at xUnlocked. Whether you're new to sustainability or refining your approach, this webinar will provide actionable strategies to drive impact. 👉 Register now: https://lnkd.in/eihc_XZ7 #SustainabilityUnlocked #NetZero #COP29 #ClimateAction #Leadership #Sustainability

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently launched its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) at COP29 in Baku Azerbaijan, committing to reducing GHG emissions by 47% by 2035 in comparison to the 2019 baseline, raising their previous target of a  40% emissions reduction. Whilst increased ambition is encouraged, our indicators depict multiple gaps in detail in this updated target, in particular; No detailed plan  Plans to use offset credits, but has not set conditions on their use Has not set separate targets for emissions reductions vs. removals See below for Climate Action Tracker's assessment: https://buff.ly/3Z3tXTd See the link below to the UAE profile on the NZT to see exactly how the target is assessed against our integrity indicators:  https://lnkd.in/eykfZKpn

NDC Announcement: Brazil! Amongst the three new NDC announcements, Brazil has committed at COP29, to lower its GHG emissions by 59% - 67% by 2035, below 2005 levels. Whilst this ratcheted ambition is welcome, our indicators show a lack of specificity in the use of offsets and carbon dioxide removal in the plan, indicating an overreliance on offset credits. Follow the link below to the Brazil profile on the NZT to see how the target is assessed against our integrity indicators: https://lnkd.in/ep2YhmxN “This commitment paves the way for Brazil to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the long-term goal of the country’s climate strategy,” the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change stated. https://lnkd.in/e4CeH7Fx

One key message that emerged from across the panel at our #COP29 side-event is that a lot more work is needed to get net zero right. Lots of progress has been made, and there are multiple examples that pave the way for taking concrete action. Comments from our panel included: Catherine McKenna, Climate and Nature Solutions, Chair HLEG for Net Zero Commitments: "To win in climate, as in sports, you need a stretch goal. Once set, you have to get up every day and do the work, sometimes you'll fail, have to reassess, work harder, innovate etc. Stretch goals are key winning in #climate." Yana Garcia, California Secretary for Environmental Protection, on U.S. climate action: "At the end of the day, there's so many actors moving with us, especially in the private sector. One of our most important lessons, with legislative partners, is that business want certainty, they appreciate that #climaterisk is financial risk." Karin Svensson, CSO, Volvo Group: “Today, we have a strategy which has to cope with different paces, in different countries. And we all need to go faster." Following our side-event, the UN Expert Group’s progress report was launched by Catherine McKenna and team, providing a status check on progress against the 10 recommendations, referencing the Net Zero Tracker 16 times. See more below: https://buff.ly/4hM6azP

📣 We just published an updated, comprehensive comparison of voluntary net zero standards, guidelines and accountability frameworks for companies. This update provides an overview of the alignment across five voluntary initiatives and a review of 37 guidelines, covering the following key topics: 1️⃣ Net zero pledges 2️⃣ Transition plans 3️⃣ Ongoing emissions 4️⃣ Residual emissions 5️⃣ Nature & adaptation (work in progress, to be added soon) This is an update of the comparison that was featured in the Net Zero Tracker‘s ’Net Zero Stocktake 2023’ (Chapter 4) and the UN Climate Change‘s Yearbook of Climate Action 2023 (Chapter 3). This new and expanded version is now integrated as a live, continuously updated resource on the Net Zero Tracker website, with underlying data available as an Excel spreadsheet. Go to the full comparison on the Net Zero Tracker website 🔗 https://lnkd.in/evTSfgzJ What do we find? Overall, existing voluntary guidance shows high levels of convergence on core principles for corporate net zero, with particularly high consensus in the following areas: 📌 Alignment with 1.5°C-compatible global pathways 📌 Coverage of all emissions scopes (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) 📌 Interim targets set at intervals of 5–10 years 📌 Excluding the use of offsets to meet interim targets 📌 Ensuring permanence of any carbon dioxide removals for long-term goals More specific guidance, however, is needed in areas like sector-specific pathways and decarbonisation milestones for setting credible, robust long-term targets. Why is this important? This comparison identifies both areas of consensus and opportunities for further guidance and alignment in the voluntary landscape covering corporate net zero. This is especially relevant for standard setters, like those currently revising the Science Based Targets initiative’s Net Zero Standard or drafting a new Net Zero Standard under the ISO - International Organization for Standardization. For policymakers, the insights from voluntary guidance can provide a foundation for regulations, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (Art. 22), to integrate provisions on corporate transition plans. Net Zero Tracker Oxford Net Zero Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit

Net zero is rife with confusion. So you'd be forgiven for thinking there's more noise than signal on what 'good net zero' actually looks like for the private sector. Competing standards often say slightly different things about core net zero aspects like #offsets, #carbonremovals and #transitionplans. But this obscures a simple fact: there's striking agreement on what good net zero looks like for companies across sectors. Launched to inform those at #COP29, our new 'Net Zero Good Practice' living document compares six standard-setting initiatives, highlighting areas of convergence on the what and how of net zero. It also unpacks what each initiative is actually saying. We explicitly cover the: - 'Integrity Matters' recommendations by the UN Expert Group on Net Zero - Corporate Net-Zero Standard by the Science Based Targets initiative - Race to Zero criteria by the High-Level Climate Champions - Net Zero Guidelines by ISO - International Organization for Standardization - Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor by NewClimate Institute - A landscape review of net zero standards by Oxford Net Zero Check it out and tell us what you think: https://lnkd.in/ezRedS8k What's good? What gaps would you like plugged? For the net zero nerds out there, under the hood is more comparative info on two other initiatives. Download the full data and see where the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)'s Climate-related Disclosures and the World Benchmarking Alliance's Assessing Transition Plans Collective (ATP-Col) fit in. This has been more than a year in the making. Really proud of the Net Zero Tracker team, especially the unflappable Frederic Hans for driving this. Like usual, we worked closely with our extended team at Oxford: Alexis McGivern, Matilda Becker and Kaya Axelsson 🙏 Stay tuned as we add more domains over time, for example Adaptation, Nature and Resilience. Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit Data-Driven EnviroLab Georgina Beasley David Carlin David Hall Catherine Atkin Catherine McKenna Shana Gallagher Daniel Barlow