net-zero target

how can nations, cities, regions, & companies achieve their net-zero aspirations?

net-zero

Many of the challenges facing humanity today, such as climate change, health, and economic crisis, water scarcity, inequality, and hunger, can only be resolved globally through promotions of sustainable development goals. One of these sustainable goals is the NET-ZERO target, where cities worldwide are taking action to respond to the climate crisis and create the future we want for all.

net-zero framework

In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed that the world needs to halve CO2 emissions by around 2030 by limiting global warming to 1.5°C and reach net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

The IPCC stresses the need for deep reductions in non-CO2 emissions across the economy to achieve this limit, and the Paris Agreement sets out the need to achieve this balance by the second half of this century.

Corporate net-zero targets are being approached inconsistently, making it difficult to assess these targets’ contribution to the global net-zero goal.

The concept of net-zero has risen in prominence ever since, as countries, cities, companies, and others are increasingly committing to reaching this ambitious goal. As of July 2020, a quarter of global CO2 emissions and more than half of the worldwide economy were covered by net-zero commitments, according to the Race to a Zero campaign led by the High-Level Climate Action Champions in the run-up to the COP 26.

At present, a close examination shows that corporate net-zero targets to date differ across three critical dimensions: 1. the range of emission sources and activities 2. the timeline 3. and the most important is on how companies are planning to achieve their target

Without a common understanding, today’s varied net-zero target setting landscape makes it difficult for stakeholders to compare goals and to assess consistency with the action needed to meet our global climate and sustainability goals.

The three most common tactics in net-zero corporate strategies are:

eliminating sources of emissions within the value chain of the company (i.e., a company’s scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions);
removing CO2 from the atmosphere; and
compensating for value chain emissions by helping to reduce emissions outside of the value chain (e.g., through the provision of finance).

DEFINITION: The IPCC defines net-zero as that point when “anthropogenic removals balance anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere over a specified period.”

What does Net-Zero mean?

A national net-zero target requires deep reductions in emissions, with any remaining sources being removed from the atmosphere with greenhouse gas removals.

Country-level emissions accounting worldwide is conducted on a territorial basis, with each country only counting emissions that directly arise from activity within their geographical boundary. It prevents double counting of emissions and more closely links to levers available at the country level to reduce emissions. Most countries have set a net-zero target for 2050 relating to their territorial (or production) emissions.

For Cities & Regions:

As cities keep growing and increasingly represent economic activity centers, knowledge generation, and hubs for innovation and technology, their role in the climate transition is more important than ever. For fast and rapid decarbonization needs to occur, cities have a leading role in meeting the climate goals and targets set out by international policy frameworks. Decarbonization efforts must be equitable and contribute to the well-being of cities and communities.

Government leadership will be critical, and industry, civil society, education, and research institutions must align in policies, governance, and arrangements for needed capital investments. To help cities overcome the current structural, institutional, and cultural barriers to achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

Achieving this level of impact will be an extraordinary undertaking for every city and will require profound and systemic changes.

The following steps are necessary to scale the activities and tackle the unprecedented capital investments needed to make such a transformation possible:

Development of a service-oriented platform supported by world-class practitioners
Co-creation of solutions needed to attain net-zero goals in a socially inclusive way
Capacity building on systemic change, citizen engagement and democratic governance, capital and financial structuring, and social innovation
Development and promotion of new and existing tools, resources, and expertise into a one-stop-shop platform that will be accessible to all cities through an online portal
Support from leading cities (e.g., C40 member cities) to help drive rapid learning about achieving climate neutrality at the city scale

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is one of the Cities key initiatives to achieve the goals set in the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy (DCES) 2050, i.e., to produce 75% of the city's energy requirements from clean sources by 2050.

In response to the current climate emergency and objectives set out by the Paris Agreement, Dubai has pledged to lead on climate action and cut its emissions by 55 percent by 2030 to reach climate neutrality by 2050.

There is no universally recognized definition of a net-zero city or region, and in this context, the term will be operationally defined as "A net-zero city or region will set and pursue an ambitious 1.5°C-aligned science-based target for all emissions sources covered within the BASIC+ reporting level of the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC), and any remaining hard-to-decarbonize emissions can be compensated with certified greenhouse gas removal (GGR)."

The BASIC+ level of the GPC includes all Scope 1 and 2 emissions, plus selected Scope 3 emissions, specifically exported waste, transmission and distribution, and transportation.

We believe it is reasonable for the ‘Other Scope 3 sources (such as GHG emissions embodied in investments, water, food, and construction materials) to be excluded from the definition of a net-zero city. However, we believe a net-zero city should pursue all possible efforts to influence and reduce the remaining Scope 3 emissions not captured within the BASIC+ framework.

For Companies:

What does it mean to reach net-zero emissions at the corporate level?

To reach a state of net-zero emissions for companies consistent with achieving net-zero emissions at the global level in line with societal climate and sustainability goals implies two conditions:

To achieve a scale of value-chain emission reductions consistent with the depth of abatement achieved in pathways that limit warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot and;
To neutralize the impact of any source of residual emissions that remains unfeasible to be eliminated by permanently removing an equivalent amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Companies may reach a balance between emissions and removals before reaching the decarbonization depth required to limit warming to 1.5ºC. While this represents a transient state of net-zero emissions, it is expected that companies will continue their decarbonization journey until reaching a level of abatement that is consistent with 1.5ºC pathways.

Why net zero matters?

We work with companies, institutions, and governments in the MENASA regions and internationally to help set rigorous net-zero targets and support their delivery.

The global adoption of net-zero targets is an essential exerciser for driving ambitious climate action. Deep cuts to emissions in line with a 1.5°C pathway and the permanent removal of any remaining greenhouse gases will be needed to achieve these targets – both of which are critical to addressing climate change.

Achieving this level of impact will be an extraordinary undertaking for every city and will require profound and systemic changes. It will undoubtedly require innovation, and we are working with a wide range of organizations on projects that are likely to play a significant role in helping achieve net-zero ambitions.