Key Points
Investor and business transition plans to move beyond decarbonisation alone
Expect a stronger focus on social issues, from ‘just’ transition to disclosure
Bigger drive to measure dependency and impact on nature
Increasing physical risks from climate change put focus on adaptation needs
Expect new wave of sustainability regulations in 2024
We have also seen a major increase in carbon net-zero commitments. According to Net Zero Tracker, 92% of global economic activity linked to 88% of global emissions are now covered by a net-zero goal (see Chart 1).
More than half of some 2,000 the world’s largest companies have a net-zero goal, representing 66% of their total annual revenues. What’s more, the number of corporate net-zero commitments grew by more than 40% in only 16 months – from 702 in June 2022 to 1,016 in November 2023.
Chart 1: Net-zero goals, by world, country, city, company
Source: Net Zero Tracker, accessed November 20 2023
Moving beyond climate change
As we look ahead to 2024, we’re expecting to see more measures that will help to convert these good intentions into reality.
That said, focusing only on decarbonisation won’t be enough. Climate-transition plans also need to deliver:
A just transition
- A nature-positive transition
- A resilient transition