The pace of change among governments and corporations is set to form a central part of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai.
Half of the world’s 2,000 biggest listed companies have set a target to get to net-zero emissions by 2050 but just a fraction meet tough United Nations guidelines for what constitutes a quality pledge, a report released on Monday shows.
That is according to the latest analysis of the Forbes Global 2000 – a list of the world’s largest companies – by Net Zero Tracker, an independent data consortium including Oxford University.
It says that the number of companies setting net zero emissions targets has risen by 40 per cent from 702 in June 2022 to 1,003 in October 2023.
Quantity over quality?
The group warns, however, that despite progress in terms of the number of companies setting net-zero targets, there is an urgent need to ensure these targets are credible and deliver on promised emissions reductions.
Just 4 per cent of targets meet the criteria laid down by the UN’s Race to Zero campaign for example, by ensuring that they cover all greenhouse gas emissions, start to cut them immediately, and include an annual progress update on interim and longer-term targets.
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