Race to Zero
On the 4th and 5th of August 2020 Nigel Topping and Gonzalo Munoz, UNFCCC High Level Climate Champions of the UK and Chile respectively, spoke at the Reuters event on Delivering Net Zero, giving an update on the UNFCCC initiative: Race to Zero.
So far, the Race to Zero initiative has obtained Zero Emissions pledges (2050 is the latest that they will accept) from:
450 cities
505 universities
1000+ businesses.
Net zero commitments covering 53% of the global economy have been lodged, representing a quarter of global emissions, over a third of the world’s population. It was a reminder of the tremendous power and influence of “non state actors”, from investors, regional governments, large and small businesses (they talked about targeting 1 million SMEs before COP26 takes place).
The importance of this work is both in direct change brought about in the commitments and behaviours of so many bodies, but also in creating the political climate in which national governments can sign up to more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, and to create pressure to ensure a Green Recovery in their recovery plans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Follow their progress and rapid developments in this area at Race to Zero.