LONDON: Half of the world’s 2,000 biggest listed companies have set a target to get to net-zero emissions by mid-century, but just a fraction meet tough United Nations guidelines for what constitutes a quality pledge, a report shows.

       Net-Zero Tracker, an independent data consortium including Oxford University, said corporate targets from Forbes2000 index companies had jumped 40% to 1,003 in October 2023, from 702 in June 2022, covering two-thirds of revenues, some US$27 trillion.

       However, just 4% of the targets meet the criteria laid down by the United Nation’s Race to Zero campaign.

       For example by covering all emissions, starting to cut them immediately, and including an annual progress update on interim and longer term targets.

       Of those companies to set a target, just 37% had one that covered their Scope Three emissions, or those tied to a company’s value chain. Just 13% had a quality threshold for the use of carbon offsets.

       The pace of change among governments and corporates is set to form a central part of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, starting later this month. — Reuters