“Net zero isn’t only a clear and simple target, it’s what the planet needs in order to halt the rise in temperatures.”
Dr Steve Smith, Executive Director, Oxford Net Zero
Together with the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), the Data-Driven EnviroLab and NewClimate Institute, Oxford Net Zero established the Net Zero Tracker, a collaboration that tracks net zero commitments made by every nation and the world’s largest regions, cities and companies. It is the only independent tool that provides a comprehensive global view of net zero across all of these entities.
The Net Zero Tracker (NZT) collects data on (i) targets set; and (ii) the factors that indicate whether those targets are robust – essentially, how serious companies and governments are about meaningfully cutting their net emissions to zero.
Users can investigate specific entities, sectors or regions; take a global snapshot, accurate at that moment; or evaluate progress and key trends over time by examining the tracker’s annual ‘Net Zero Stocktake’. The NZT’s Data Explorer provides a simple way to interrogate data, focusing on specific entity types, regions and/or integrity markers.
Net zero targets have proliferated over the last several years, especially in the wake of the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C (2018). But the accountability and transparency architecture was initially unable to keep up, making it challenging for stakeholders to differentiate between targets that come with robust plans and those consisting of mere rhetoric. That is where the NZT steps in. It is helping to build and strengthen that architecture so that interested parties from all walks of life can understand, evaluate and assess the state of play at global, regional or sectoral levels.
Take a look at the NZT’s latest outputs here.
Members of Oxford Net Zero also contribute to the Oxford Climate Policy Monitor, an open-access resource tracking and assessing climate policies and regulations in over 30 countries. Through evaluating policies against hundreds of possible data points, the Monitor considers the ambition, stringency, degree of implementation, and comprehensive coverage of climate rules.
The Monitor is powered by a partnership between the Climate Policy Hub, an Oxford-based initiative which is part of the Oxford Net Zero strategic cluster, and a pro-bono network of more than 45 leading law firms worldwide. The Hub was launched with a grant from the Oxford Martin School and is a collaboration between the Blavatnik School of Government and the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme.
Read more about the Monitor and explore the 2024 data here.