UN launches expert group to develop global standards for net zero pledges

The United Nations has launched a new expert group – the High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities – to develop global standards for net zero pledges from businesses, investors, cities and regions (see UN press release). 

The group aims to develop, before the end of 2022, credibility criteria and measurement metrics for decarbonisation, as well as recommendations on the processes needed to verify progress against decarbonisation targets and plans. The Group will be chaired by Catherine McKenna, former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change. 

The UN is concerned that, despite growing pledges of climate action, global emissions are still at an all-time high. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that “if we don’t see significant and sustained emissions reductions this decade, the window of opportunity to keep 1.5 alive will be closed – and closed forever”.

This is the latest in a series of developments aimed at combatting greenwash and helping businesses and the financial sector "walk the talk" on their net zero pledges.