Net zero has become an entrenched feature of the corporate world, with a majority of the Global Forbes 2000 companies publicly committing to emissions targets. These corporations represent an impressive $36.6 trillion in revenue, accounting for 70% of the total revenue within this index. This mass corporate participation is not limited to Western economies but increasingly finds momentum across Asia, with countries such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand marking noticeable rises in net zero target adoption. This geographical diversification signals a broadening of climate mitigation efforts beyond traditional powerhouses, introducing new dynamics into global climate governance.

The Stocktake delineates the drivers of this corporate momentum: clearer regulatory standards, progressive national climate policies, and companies’ realization that sustainable strategies safeguard long-term investment returns. Importantly, over two thirds of the companies with net zero pledges have substantiated their ambitions with credible plans, moving past symbolic commitments toward actionable strategies. This transition signals an industry-wide awakening to the imperative of genuine emissions reductions, though challenges in transparency and accountability persist.

John Lang, Lead of the Net Zero Tracker, poignantly highlights the devastating climate events of 2025—ranging from catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles to severe flooding in Pakistan—as stark reminders of the stakes involved. Lang dismisses the notion of a ‘net zero recession’ as exaggerated, emphasizing that resistance to decarbonization predominantly originates from fossil fuel sectors and their financiers. Meanwhile, companies committed to net zero are increasingly moving beyond superficial pledges, focusing on tangible emission reductions as part of a necessary recalibration of global climate action.

The corporate response is mirrored by subnational governments, particularly in the United States, where despite the federal government’s withdrawal from a nationwide net zero target, states and local jurisdictions have maintained robust commitments. Nineteen U.S. states currently adhere to net zero targets, which not only cushions the domestic impact of federal policy rollback but also boosts the global share of GDP covered by net zero commitments to 83%. This decentralized approach exemplifies the critical role subnational actors play in sustaining climate momentum amid national policy vacillations.

Furthermore, U.S.-based companies have notably increased their net zero commitments by 9% over the past year, encompassing major corporations such as eBay, Merck & Co, and Goodyear. Together, these companies account for $12 trillion in global revenue, representing an overwhelming 64% of the corporate revenue assessed within the United States and the largest share globally. Notably, slightly over half of America’s largest companies now endorse net zero targets, underscoring a burgeoning corporate consensus on the strategic importance of climate responsibility.

Despite this overall positive trend, the NZT’s analysis of commitment quality reveals a sobering reality: only a small fraction of net zero targets fully meet the ‘Starting Line’ criteria established by the Race to Zero campaign. This rigorous benchmark demands comprehensive scope coverage, concrete plans, and transparent annual progress reporting. Currently, a mere 7% of corporate targets and similarly low percentages among cities and regions meet these integrity standards. The slow improvement in target robustness evidences a persistent gap between pledges and effective climate governance.

This integrity deficit is further highlighted by the revelation that nearly half of the assessed subnational governments and companies have yet to establish any emissions reduction targets. Of particular concern is the fact that 424 companies continue to operate entirely without climate goals, potentially jeopardizing their economic viability and environmental responsibilities. This lag in ambition amidst mounting climate risks raises pressing questions about accountability and the future resilience of industries resistant to transformation.

A crucial focus of the 2025 Stocktake is the increasing reliance on nature-based solutions, such as reforestation and peatland restoration, within corporate strategies. Approximately one-third of companies with net zero commitments indicate plans to utilize such natural carbon removals. However, only 4% explicitly set separate, transparent targets for removals, a practice critical for ensuring credibility and preventing overdependence on limited natural resources. The integration of nature into corporate climate strategies is complex, offering vital biodiversity co-benefits but also carrying risks if used as an alternative to deep emission cuts.

In particular, among the world’s thirty largest food and agriculture firms, there is a notable shift in strategic focus. These companies have retained their climate targets in 2025 but are evolving their approach by moving away from short-term goals toward longer-term pledges aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative’s FLAG (Forest, Land and Agriculture) guidance. While increasing reliance on land-based carbon removals aligns with an ecosystem-centric view, it must not detract from decisive decarbonization of fossil fuel emissions to meet climate imperatives effectively.

Experts contributing to the Stocktake report affirm that climate policy is increasingly intertwined with economic competitiveness in global markets. Professor Thomas Hale of Oxford University characterizes net zero as less a partisan issue than a strategic race for investment, innovation, and jobs. Meanwhile, analysts from NewClimate Institute underscore the urgency for companies to transition from mere pledges to robust implementation—time is short to capitalize on the remaining decade critical for limiting global warming to safe thresholds.

The Net Zero Tracker remains the world’s most comprehensive database cataloguing net zero commitments across nations, regions, cities, and corporations, covering over 4,000 entities worldwide. This systematic analysis not only highlights prevailing trends but also identifies the maturing nature of the net zero movement. Collectively, it presents a nuanced picture: meaningful progress is being made, particularly within the corporate sector and subnational governance, yet considerable work remains to translate commitments into tangible emission reductions.

In essence, the 2025 Stocktake report delivers both a message of hope and a stark warning. Despite broadening adherence to net zero across diverse sectors and geographies, the precarious quality of many targets and the absence of commitments in sizeable segments present significant barriers. The accelerating impacts of climate change demand intensified urgency, transparency, and accountability to transform pledges into measurable climate outcomes, ensuring a livable planet for future generations.

Subject of Research: Global net zero commitments and their effectiveness in mitigating climate change
Article Title: The Global Race to Net Zero: Progress, Pitfalls, and the Path Ahead
News Publication Date: 2025
Web References: Net Zero Tracker (NZT) reports and databases
References: UN Expert Group recommendations, Race to Zero campaign criteria, Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) FLAG guidance
Keywords: Climate change mitigation, net zero targets, corporate sustainability, subnational climate action, nature-based solutions, climate policy

The study’s lead author, Professor Piers Forster of the University of Leeds, emphasizes that the unprecedented warming rates and levels documented reflect humanity’s insufficient climate response. Despite long-standing policy commitments such as the Paris Agreement, greenhouse gas emissions remain near historic highs, exacerbating the risks of dangerous climate impacts worldwide. The report details a continued upward trend in global average temperatures, with the 2024 annual surface temperature anomaly reaching an estimated 1.52°C above pre-industrial levels, of which approximately 1.36°C can be directly attributed to anthropogenic activities. This figure, while slightly lower than the World Meteorological Organization’s 1.55°C estimate, confirms a disturbing climate trajectory.

Integral to this study is the expansion of key climate indicators to include sea-level rise and terrestrial precipitation patterns, further broadening our understanding of the climate system’s multifaceted response to human-induced forcing. The research indicates a significant acceleration in oceanic heat content—approximately 91% of excess anthropogenic heat is absorbed by the world’s oceans, intensifying thermal stress on marine ecosystems and contributing to rising sea levels. Between 2019 and 2024, global mean sea levels rose by about 26 millimeters, effectively doubling the long-term 20th-century average rate of sea-level increase. These trends threaten coastal communities by amplifying storm surges and promoting coastal erosion, effects “locked in” due to the slow pace of sea-level rise responses to increased global temperatures.

The detailed thermal analysis reveals that the Earth’s energy balance has shifted considerably, with surplus heat accumulating at an accelerating rate compared to previous decades. The rate of global heating observed between 2012 and 2024 has roughly doubled relative to the 1970s and 1980s, underpinning rapid changes in vital climate components such as ice sheet mass loss and permafrost thawing. These processes, once thought to be gradual, are now manifesting with growing intensity and speed, creating feedback loops that may further exacerbate global warming. Furthermore, the decline in planet-cooling aerosols like sulphur dioxide, driven by pollution control measures, inadvertently diminishes a short-term global cooling counterbalance, leading to accelerated warming. This accentuates the need to target other short-lived climate pollutants such as methane, which could yield more immediate cooling benefits.

The human fingerprint on climate variability is unmistakable, as evidenced by temperature records that reveal a decade-average global warming of 1.24°C (2015–2024) compared to pre-industrial times, virtually all of which is linked to anthropogenic emissions. These emissions have averaged about 53 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually over the past decade, predominantly from fossil fuel combustion and deforestation. Of particular note, international aviation emissions, which markedly declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, further complicating efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas outputs. Such trends illuminate the entrenched nature of fossil fuel reliance worldwide and the considerable challenges in transitioning to sustainable energy systems.

Land surface temperatures have witnessed more dramatic increases than global means, with maximum temperatures rising to around 1.9°C over the last decade. This localized extreme warming exacerbates risks of heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires, disproportionately impacting vulnerable ecosystems and human settlements. The decade 2015–2024 was found to be 0.31°C warmer than the preceding decade, a jump consistent with ongoing warming trends but intensified by the extraordinarily hot years of 2023 and 2024. These intensifying extremes bear direct consequences for food security, water availability, and human health, amplifying the urgency for immediate adaptive measures.

The report affirms that transient exceedance of temperature targets in any single year does not constitute a breach of international climate agreements, which require long-term averages to remain below thresholds such as 1.5°C. However, the fact that 2024’s annual temperature reached this critical mark signifies how rapidly we are approaching limits that may trigger irreversible and catastrophic climatic shifts. IPCC’s prior assessments, reiterated by this study, stress that only deep and rapid greenhouse gas emission reductions across all sectors can alter this trajectory and offer a path to climate resilience.

Ocean warming, a critical element detailed by Dr. Karina Von Schuckmann of Mercator Ocean International, is central to the climate crisis. The ocean’s capacity to absorb excess heat buffers atmospheric heating but comes at the cost of disrupting marine biodiversity and intensifying extreme weather events. The ocean’s temperature peak in 2024, reaching record high values globally, signals deteriorating conditions for coral reefs, fish stocks, and ecosystems pivotal for coastal livelihoods. This has rippling effects on economies and societies dependent on marine resources.

Sea-level rise, an ever-present threat explained by Dr. Aimée Slangen from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, continues to imperil coastal populations and habitats worldwide. Since 1900, an accumulated rise of 228 mm might appear modest but already amplifies the destructiveness of storm surges and triggers soil salinization and habitat degradation. The inherently slow dynamic of sea-level response, driven by melting ice sheets and thermal expansion, means current emissions are locking in future unavoidable increases, a sobering concept for climate planners and policymakers.

The study further outlines critical radiative forcing changes and greenhouse gas concentrations that continue to shift the Earth’s climate equilibrium. The increase in greenhouse gases, combined with diminished sulphur dioxide emissions, tilts the balance toward warming despite the negative health implications of airborne particulates. This interplay between different atmospheric constituents complicates climate projections but concurrently points toward integrated mitigation approaches that target both long- and short-lived climate forcers.

Professor Joeri Rogelj of Imperial College London encapsulates the gravity of the findings, noting that the "window to stay within 1.5°C is rapidly closing." He highlights that the coming decade’s emission trajectories will decisively determine the rate and extent of climate warming. Every fraction of a degree matters, bringing more frequent and intense extreme weather phenomena with profound societal, environmental, and economic ramifications. The report calls for urgent, systemic climate action consistent with and accelerating beyond current policy frameworks.

In conclusion, the Indicators of Global Climate Change 2024 report presents a sobering and unequivocal call to action. It details the interlinked and rapidly evolving components of the Earth system under human influence, emphasizing that the climate crisis is not a future threat but a pressing contemporary reality. Through precise quantitative assessments and holistic system-level analysis, the study strengthens the scientific foundation necessary for informed policymaking and public understanding. As international negotiations and national strategies develop, the evidence underscores that the time to act decisively, with ambition and speed, is now.

Subject of Research: Not applicable

Article Title: Indicators of Global Climate Change 2024: annual update of key indicators of the state of the state of the climate system and human influence

News Publication Date: 19 June 2025

Web References:

• https://www.igcc.earth/
• https://unfccc.int/event/university-of-leeds-indicators-of-global-climate-change-annual-update-of-key-indicators-of-the-state
• https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QKq-WtyPSOYOSv4WIqNO91RzdvYH2EbV?usp=drive_link

References: Forster et al., 2025. DOI accessible from Earth System Science Data.

Keywords: Earth sciences, Climate change, Climate data, Climate sensitivity, Climate stability, Climate systems