A survey of the net zero positions of the world’s largest energy companies

Abstract:

We looked for evidence of their acknowledgement of and support for the temperature goals of the 2015 UN Paris Agreement on climate change and, in particular, assessed how many companies have set net zero commitments for their own emissions, and plans to deliver on those commitments. We find that a majority of companies (54%) explicitly acknowledge the aims of the Paris Agreement to limit the increase in global temperature to well below 2 C above the pre-industrial level and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 C. However, only 39% explicitly state their support for these aims. Only 20% of companies explicitly acknowledge the need for net global CO2 emissions to reach zero in order to stop global temperatures from rising.