27/06/2024
A growing European movement for a community-driven energy transition
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Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, there has been a growing number of net-zero commitments by non-state actors, including businesses, investors, cities and regions. This growth has been accompanied by a proliferation of criteria and benchmarks to set net-zero commitments, with varying levels of robustness.
To develop stronger standards for net-zero commitments, in March 2022 the UN set up a High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities and called for submissions from stakeholder organizations. In response to this, Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation, submitted a public response with the aim of ensuring the integrity of net-zero commitments and seeking the most ambitious outcome.
In her role as the French Climate Change Ambassador and Special Representative for COP21, Ms. Tubiana insisted that the Paris Agreement must not only include short-term, nationally-determined contributions for climate action, but also a long-term, science-based goal that would set the thresholds of climate safety. This translated into article 4.1 of the Paris Agreement – which requires a global balance of sources and sinks of carbon emissions – based on principles of equity by mid-century.
Since Paris, and especially in the run up to COP26 in Glasgow, article 4.1 has widely been interpreted in the form of ‘net zero’ commitments by both countries and non-state actors. This framing has been enormously successful, with 91% of global GDP now captured by national government net zero commitments. However, while the quantity of net zero commitments has rapidly grown, the quality of these targets is still woefully lacking – as many commitments remain voluntary and the definition of ‘net zero’ has been interpreted in different ways.
This is why the work of the High-Level Expert Group is so critical. As further developed and explained in the letter:
- There needs to be a clear expectation that when the term ‘net zero’ is used, it does not represent greenwashing or act as an alternative form of climate denial or delay.
- For an actor to set a ‘true’ net zero target, it must be:
- High-integrity and science aligned (including ending fossil fuel investments)
- Prioritise the ‘zero’ and minimise the ‘net’
- Require urgent mitigation action now (no delay)
- Be transparent and independently assessed
- Be fair and equitable
- And support living within planetary boundaries (including protecting nature) to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals
- Net zero plans must also be investment plans and there is a need to find ways for finance to provide large-scale, long-term and predictable investment flows that protect ecosystems to achieve these goals, and that are not mere carbon offsets or a form of delayed mitigation.
- There is no time to waste: with emissions continuing to rise rapidly, we must act now to set the rules for net zero which will lock in high levels of climate ambition – and the funding and resources committed to delivering it – in this decade.
- This must include near-term action, from now – in this decade until 2030 – and into 2035 to fully decarbonise the energy sector. The crisis resulting from the Russian war on Ukraine has shown that to meet net zero targets, it is essential to immediately start to swop supply chains from oil and gas energy sources to renewable electricity.
“While the quantity of net zero commitments has rapidly grown, the quality of these targets is still woefully lacking – as many commitments remain voluntary, while the definition of ‘net zero’ has been interpreted in different ways, sometimes acting as a place to hide behind ‘business as usual’ activities. This is why the work of the UN High Level Expert Group on Net Zero is essential”
Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation