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The Net Zero Stocktake 2025 finds that while the number of net zero targets continues to rise across companies, cities, and regions, the integrity of these commitments remains low. As of September 2025, 1,935 entities have targets, including 137 national governments and 63% of the Forbes Global 2000. However, only a small fraction of companies, regions, and cities meet all minimum integrity requirements. The report also highlights a gap in planning, with nearly one-third of Forbes Global 2000 companies lacking a clear roadmap, and expresses concern over the lack of dedicated targets for nature-based carbon removals.

The Net Zero Stocktake 2025 finds that while net zero target-setting continues to rise among companies and subnational governments, national-level coverage has dipped due to the US formally abandoning its target. Target integrity remains low, with only a small fraction of entities meeting minimum procedural and substantive requirements. The report also highlights a concerning corporate reliance on nature-based removals and offsets, which often lack transparency and durability.

The Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2025 finds that none of the 20 assessed companies demonstrate a climate strategy of 'reasonable' or 'high' integrity. The report highlights that 2030 emission reduction targets are increasingly 'unfit for purpose' due to structural obstacles, including incomplete emissions disclosures and sector-specific accounting malpractices. In the tech sector, soaring energy demand from AI and a reliance on outdated market-based accounting for electricity undermine target credibility. The automotive sector shows inadequate progress in phasing out internal combustion engines, while the fashion sector lacks commitments to reduce overproduction. The agrifood sector is criticised for relying on undefined land-based carbon removals to obscure a lack of structural emission reductions. The report argues for the adoption of transition-specific alignment targets to complement general GHG targets.

The Net Zero Stocktake 2024 finds that while net zero target-setting is increasing among companies, cities, and subnational governments, very few (5% or less) meet all minimum integrity criteria. The report highlights a significant rise in target-setting by Asian companies and notes that while national targets often act as an ambition 'ceiling', some subnational governments in countries like Australia, Germany, and India have set more ambitious targets than their national governments.

The Net Zero Stocktake 2024 reveals a consolidation of net zero targets across countries, cities, and companies, but highlights a critical gap in integrity. While national targets now cover 87% of global GHG emissions, fewer than 5% of non-state entities meet all minimum procedural and substantive integrity criteria. The report emphasizes that national targets often act as a 'ceiling' for subnational ambition, though some regions in countries like Australia and Japan have historically pushed national goals forward. It also notes that members of the Race to Zero campaign generally outperform non-members on integrity measures, although absolute performance remains low.

The 2024 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor finds that while corporate climate targets are gradually improving, they remain largely insufficient to align with a 1.5°C pathway. The median 2030 emission reduction commitment for the 51 assessed companies is only 30-33% of full value chain emissions, falling short of the 43-48% required globally. The report highlights a critical lack of depth in scope 3 targets and warns that proposed flexibility mechanisms, such as the VCMI beta Scope 3 Flexibility Claim, could effectively nullify these commitments. It also identifies an over-reliance on 'false solutions' like bioenergy, carbon capture, and land-based carbon dioxide removals (CDR), particularly in the agrifood and fashion sectors. The authors argue for a transition from voluntary initiatives to formal accountability through mandatory regulation and accredited verification.

Carbon Market Watch has filed a formal complaint with Verra based on research from the University of California (Berkeley) that identifies 'major deficiencies in project integrity and rigour' across several REDD+ projects. The document alleges that Verra and its validation/verification bodies (VVBs) failed to uphold standards, resulting in the issuance of carbon credits that are not 'environmentally sound'. Key failures cited include non-conservative forest carbon accounting, lack of transparency in allometric equations, inadequate community consultation, and the underestimation of natural reversal risks. The complainant calls for an internal investigation, a halt on credit issuance for the affected projects, and the cancellation of wrongfully issued credits.

The Net Zero Stocktake 2023 analyzes net zero pledges across over 4,000 entities, finding that while the number of corporate targets is growing rapidly and national targets are increasingly underpinned by policy, many subnational and corporate entities still lack emission reduction targets or robust strategies, and no major producer has committed to a fossil fuel phase-out.

The 2023 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor evaluates 24 multinational companies, finding that 15 of them have climate strategies of low or very low integrity. Key issues include ambiguous net-zero pledges, insufficient 2030 targets that fall short of 1.5°C pathways, and a heavy reliance on non-permanent biological carbon offsets. While emission disclosure transparency is moderate, the report highlights a critical '2030 blind spot' where corporate commitments do not match the required global reductions of 43-48% by 2030. The authors advocate for a shift from offsetting to a 'climate contribution' approach and call for tighter regulatory oversight to ensure corporate accountability.