Recommendations and current realities

The analysis finds that a vast majority of non-state entities fail to meet the minimum criteria for net zero targets established by the UN HLEG. While the number of pledges from cities, regions, and companies has increased over the past year, many remain as mere aspirations without detailed transition plans, interim targets, or transparent reporting mechanisms. Specifically, only a minority of companies include full value chain emissions (Scope 3) in their targets, and over half of cities with net zero pledges lack any reporting mechanism to track progress.

• A significant number of non-state entities have made net zero pledges, with 116 of 713 assessed regions, 241 of 1,177 assessed cities, and 799 of 2,000 assessed publicly listed companies having done so as of November 2022.
• Adoption of interim targets is inconsistent; while most regions have set them, only approximately half of cities and companies have done so.
• Corporate net zero targets often lack comprehensive value chain coverage, with only a minority of companies explicitly including Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and about 25% of companies failing to specify coverage at all.
• There is a gap between making a pledge and having a concrete plan; just under two-thirds of entities with a target have published a transition plan, with the share of regions with such plans remaining at 9%.
• Transparency and accountability are lacking, particularly for cities, where more than 50% of those with net zero pledges have no reporting mechanism in place.
• Very few net zero pledges or plans across cities, regions, and companies include references to justice or equity.

APA

Net Zero Tracker (2022). Recommendations and current realities. https://zerotracker.net/analysis/recommendations-and-current-realities

Chicago

Net Zero Tracker. Recommendations and current realities. 2022. https://zerotracker.net/analysis/recommendations-and-current-realities.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Net Zero Tracker |title=Recommendations and current realities |date=15 November 2022 |url=https://zerotracker.net/analysis/recommendations-and-current-realities |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{netzerotracker2022recommendations, author = {{Net Zero Tracker}}, title = {{Recommendations and current realities}}, institution = {Net Zero Tracker}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://zerotracker.net/analysis/recommendations-and-current-realities}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }