How Big Polluters are using “net zero” to block meaningful action at COP26

The fact sheet details how six major corporate players—BP, Microsoft, Drax, IETA, BlackRock, and Shell—employ 'net zero' agendas to maintain business-as-usual operations. It contends that these entities promote 'false solutions' such as carbon offsets, BECCS, and hydrogen to delay emissions cuts at the source. The document further highlights the influence of these corporations on COP26 through sponsorship, lobbying, and participation in industry-led initiatives like the Race to Zero and the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets.

• BP continues to invest heavily in fossil fuels despite its 2050 net zero ambition, including plans to spend US$71 billion on extraction and launching seven new hydrocarbon projects in 2022. The company's emissions from marketed products are projected to grow until at least 2030, and it is investing US$9 billion in oil and gas in 2021, including the Vostok project in the Arctic.
• Microsoft, a COP26 Principal Partner, acts as a major tech provider for the oil and gas industry, providing AI for oil extraction. Its 'carbon negative' 2030 pledge relies on carbon removal technologies and offsets that the company admits are based on 'ambiguous and discretionary' accounting and non-existent ecosystems.
• Drax is identified as the UK's largest single source of CO2 emissions and the third largest among coal plants in Europe when biomass is included. It promotes Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) to claim a 'carbon-negative' goal by 2030, despite struggling to capture 1/100th of the emissions expected by the UK government.
• The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) promotes carbon markets as a primary climate solution, which the document argues replaces public finance for adaptation with private profit. IETA has historically exerted significant influence at COPs, often sending delegations much larger than those of national governments.
• BlackRock remains a massive investor in fossil fuels, holding US$85 billion in coal and US$75 billion in tar sands companies. Its 'net zero by 2050' commitment lacks short- or medium-term benchmarks for emissions reductions and has a record of voting down 88 percent of climate-friendly shareholder resolutions in 2020.
• Shell's 'Powering Progress' strategy is described as a business-as-usual approach that includes increasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations by 20 percent and spending US$8 billion annually on oil and gas production. Its plan relies on offsetting 120 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.
• The document identifies several 'dangerous distractions' used by polluters to avoid real emissions cuts, including Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS/CCUS), which is often used for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), and 'green' hydrogen, of which less than 0.1 percent of global production is actually green.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2021). How Big Polluters are using “net zero” to block meaningful action at COP26. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Final-Still-A-Big-Con-factfile.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. How Big Polluters are using “net zero” to block meaningful action at COP26. 2021. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Final-Still-A-Big-Con-factfile.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=How Big Polluters are using “net zero” to block meaningful action at COP26 |date=October 2021 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Final-Still-A-Big-Con-factfile.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2021how, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{How Big Polluters are using “net zero” to block meaningful action at COP26}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Final-Still-A-Big-Con-factfile.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }