Established on March 31, 2022 by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities is made up of 18 international experts and chaired by Catherine McKenna, former Canadian Minister of the Environment.
At COP27, in November 2022, the group delivered its long-awaited report: in the form of 10 recommendations, it aims to improve the quality, integrity and credibility of « net zero » commitments, transition plans and progress monitoring by individual players and coalitions.
In seven months, the experts organized over 40 regional and thematic consultations, with the participation of over 500 organizations worldwide, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders. The group also received nearly 300 written contributions from interested organizations, initiatives and individuals.
The public announcement of the « net zero » pledge should be supported by the leadership of the non-state actor, and must contain interim targets (2025, 2030, 2035) as well as transition plans in line with the « net zero » emissions models of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the International Energy Agency (IEA): a 50% reduction in global emissions by 2030, followed by « net zero » in 2050 for CO2 emissions, and « net zero » for global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Non-state actors should set short-, medium- and long-term absolute reduction targets, and where appropriate, relative emission reduction targets in their value chain, in line with the model put forward by the latest IPCC report.
High-integrity carbon credits in voluntary markets should be used for mitigation beyond the value chain, but cannot be counted towards non-state actors’ interim emissions reductions required for their « net zero » trajectory. For those who have met their interim targets, they are advised to offset the remainder of their unabated emissions through the purchase of high-integrity carbon credits.
As a mechanism to facilitate the much-needed financial support for the decarbonization of developing country economies, high-integrity carbon credits should meet the criteria of additionality (the mitigation activity would not have taken place without the incentive generated by the carbon credit revenues) and permanence.
Transition plans should be updated every five years and progress reported annually. They must be publicly disclosed, comprehensive and actionable, and should indicate the actions taken to achieve all objectives, while supporting a just transition.
Net zero » commitments must include specific targets for ending the use and/or support of fossil fuels, in line with the IPCC and IEA models set out earlier. This transition should be accompanied by a fully-funded transition to renewable energies, and it must be just and equitable for the affected communities in order to guarantee access to energy.
Non-state actors need to align their external policy and engagement efforts with the emission reduction targets based on the IPCC and IEA models, and thus push for positive climate action.
Non-state actors with significant land-use emissions should establish and maintain operations and supply chains that avoid the conversion of remaining natural ecosystems, with a view to eliminating deforestation and peatland loss by 2025 at the latest, and the conversion of other remaining natural ecosystems by 2030.
Financial institutions should have a policy of not investing or financing companies linked to deforestation, and should eliminate deforestation linked to agricultural commodities from their investment and credit portfolios by 2025.
Non-state actors must disclose data on their emissions, targets, plans and progress on an annual basis, in the form of comparable, accurate and reliable data to enable effective tracking.
This data must be published in a standardized, open format, via platforms that feed into the UNFCCC’s Global Climate Action Portal.
Non-state actors should have the emissions reductions they report verified by independent third parties, paying particular attention to building sufficient capacity in developing countries to verify emission reductions.
Large financial and non-financial companies should request an independent assessment of their annual reports, an opinion on their climate governance, as well as an independent assessment of measures and targets and an evaluation of internal controls.
In order to achieve a global « net zero » globally, while ensuring a just transition and sustainable development, a new deal for development is needed that includes financial institutions and multinational corporations working with governments, Multilateral Development Banks and Development Finance Institutions to dramatically scale up investment in the clean energy transition in developing countries.
To ensure that commitments are rigorous, consistent and competitive, regulators should develop regulations and standards, starting with high-impact corporate emitters. To counter the fragmentation of regulatory regimes, a new Task Force on net zero Regulation comprising regulators and international experts should be formed to work towards net zero targets.
