Just 5% of net zero targets are high integrity: report

The latest Net Zero Stocktake shows that despite a growing number of companies, states and cities adopting net zero targets, the wide majority of these goals still lack robustness and integrity.

“Although the number of credible net zero targets is growing, 5% or less of entities across companies, states and regions, and cities meet all our minimum procedural and substantive integrity criteria,” warn NewClimate Institute, Oxford Net Zero, Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit and Data-Driven EnviroLab in the 2024 report.

This means that most of the world’s net zero targets lack complementary measures to ensure their achievability, such as near-term interim targets, transparency regarding the use of carbon credits, coverage of all emissions scopes, and regular progress reporting.

Among the 1,145 publicly listed companies from the Forbes Global 2000 that now have a net zero target (up from 417 in 2020), just 5% meet all integrity criteria – though this is slightly up from 4% in June 2023. 

Fewer than 20% of companies provide clarity on the use of carbon offsets and fewer than 40% cover all emissions scopes. 

Race to Zero members, which include companies and financial institutions, as well as states and cities, perform significantly better on minimum integrity criteria – though both groups need to improve.

Overall, a larger proportion of companies than states and regions have set interim targets and report annually on their progress.

127% increase in net zero targets since 2020

The think tank has been tracking the targets of 198 countries, 708 states and regions, 1,186 cities, and 1,977 publicly listed companies for the past four years. By now, at least 1,750 of these entities have set net zero goals, up more than 127% from just 769 in December 2020.

In the corporate world, the report notes particular growth in targets within Asia over the last 18 months – “likely a result of both regional decarbonisation efforts and improved internal data collection”. 

In China, the number of firms targeting net zero has gone from 27 to 48, in India from 20 to 29, in Japan from 118 to 184, and in South Korea from 22 to 41. 

More climate progress needed before COP30

In general, however, the report highlights large gaps in Paris Agreement-aligned target setting, and points to the need for urgent action to keep the world on a path to net zero emissions by 2050.

“Overall, this report presents a world on the path to net zero but in dire need of swift, sustained action to turn targets into concrete, credible implementation plans. The third ratchet of the Paris Agreement — the submission of new emissions-cutting NDCs [nationally determined contributions] — culminating at COP30 in Brazil in 2025, offers a crucial opportunity to achieve this necessary shift,” write the authors.