Net Zero Stocktake 2024: progress and challenges as global emissions targets rise by 28%

The latest Net Zero Stocktake reveals global emissions targets have risen by 28 per cent, while only 5 per cent of global entities meet minimum net zero integrity standards.

However, net zero targets are being held back by a ‘commitment gap’ which undermines targets designed under the Paris Agreement. This commitment gap is primarily driven by a lack of clear policy and regulation encouraging businesses and governments to work together to establish and enforce net zero actions.

What does the report tell us?

The 2024 Net Zero Stocktake, supported by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU(, Data-Driven EnviroLab, NewClimate Institute, and Oxford Net Zero, taps into a database of 198 countries, 708 states and regions, 1,186 cities, and 1,977 publicly listed companies. Of these tracked entities, the following now have net zero targets:

• 1,145 organisations
• 148 countries
• 186 states and regions
• 271 cities

Importantly, the report emphasises that national-level targets now account for 93 per cent of global GDP, 87 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and 88 per cent of the global population, highlighting the scale of net zero ambition and the wide-reaching impacts strategies and actions should have.

The report doesn’t hold back in naming names when it comes to those shirking on their environmental responsibilities. Of the global organisations tracked, corporate giants Tesla, Nintendo, and Berkshire Hathaway all lack any form of mitigation target. In terms of countries involved, the key absentee on the list of nationally determined net zero targets is Azerbaijan, a high-emitting oil country and this year’s host of the UN climate summit COP29.

Segmenting organisational data into geographical regions, net zero target-setting among companies based in Asia have experienced the sharpest rise. In China alone, the number of companies with net zero targets has grown from 27 to 48, 20 to 29 in India, 118 to 184 in Japan, and 22 to 41 in South Korea.

Has enough progress been made?

While the number of credible net zero pledges has grown according to the tracker, only 5 per cent of non-state entities meet all seven of the basic procedural and substantive integrity criteria. The seven criteria are:

1.     Clarity on the use of offsets

2.     Published implementation plan

3.     Annual progress reporting

4.     Contains interim targets

5.     Covering all greenhouse gas emissions

6.     Net zero target year: by 2050

7.     Net zero target formalised

What this suggests is that while the path to net zero is becoming increasingly trodden, sustained action turning targets and ideas into concrete, credible implementation plans with clearly defined reporting and goals is needed in order to meet the terms of the Paris Agreement.

A minimum standard of credibility needs to be determined and enforced to ensure those without targets have a clear marker to work from, and those with targets understand the level they should be operating at.

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