UNFCCC

Halving Emissions by 2030 is New Normal - Race To Zero Anniversary

Over 4,500 non-state actors from across the global economy have committed to halving emissions by 2030, joining the UN-backed Race to Zero campaign. These actors from over 92 countries recognise the value and the imperative of racing to a zero-carbon economy to build a healthier, safer, cleaner, more resilient world for generations to come.

One year since its launch, the campaign has seen a tenfold increase in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a fivefold increase in the number of financial institutions and now includes 40% of FTSE100 companies, almost 1000 cities and over 600 educational institutions committed to credible climate action. Major new joiners include Google and Microsoft (through Exponential Roadmap Initiative), Apple, Pfizer and ENGIE (through Business Ambition for 1.5C); JLL and Visa (through The Climate Pledge), Minas Gerais through Under2; Nashik through Cities Race to Zero, and many more. See here for a full list of Partners and their members.

Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, said: “At COP26 the world must lay the ground for a decade of transformational climate action. What the Race to Zero has shown - in just one year - is that there is unprecedented momentum among non-state actors to achieve that goal and deliver the promise of the Paris Agreement as rapidly as possible.

I applaud the more than 4,500 companies, cities, regions, financial, educational and healthcare institutions that have joined, and urge the rest of the world to join us as we work to halve emissions by 2030."

Non-state actors are already delivering change

With less than five months left until COP26, actors are racing to implement their commitments to provide our best hope of delivering on the promise of the Paris Agreement. Decarbonising as fast as possible is not only a societal obligation, but crucially a commercial expectation and the only future path to growth.

Accelerating the transition ahead of COP26

Race to Zero is not an end in itself: the campaign aims to bring together these leading Partner initiatives in order to amplify their voice and activate an ambition loop with national governments to help countries both ratchet and deliver their NDCs.

As the campaign looks to work with the whole climate community and the broader public to support the implementation of these robust commitments, the Champions and Race to Zero Partners warmly welcome you to join them in an opening session to launch the public consultation on the future of Race to Zero.

This session will set out the context and outline the process for the public consultation to shape the future of Race to Zero, seeking to gather feedback on specific themes to continue enhancing the campaign and maximising its impact on limiting emissions.  It will explore how to drive cooperation and coordination within the climate action ecosystem to leverage different non-State actors’ capacities and expertise with a view to ensure the implementation of robust climate action based on credible net-zero targets.

Bridging the gap between mitigation and resilience. 

The race to a world in which people can thrive in spite of climate change does not end with climate mitigation. Efforts to reduce emissions must take into account the impacts of climate change we are already feeling, and help reduce them, especially for the most vulnerable. In recognition of this, the Race to Resilience was launched in January 2021 to place adaptation and resilience on equal footing to mitigation, catalysing a step-change in global ambition and action on resilience from non-state actors.

As in the Race to Zero, the non-state actor community is stepping up in this crucial year of climate action to drive more resources to climate resilience and adaptation. Twenty-one non-state actor-led initiatives are now part of the Race to Resilience, with over 1,500 members, operating in over 80 countries across five regions.

Find out more about all the Race to Zero Partners here, and about the Race to Resilience Partners here.

If you haven’t already, register here for the UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit, marking the 1 Year Anniversary of the Race to Zero.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Alexander Saier
Chief, Communications and Knowledge
(mobile) +49 172 179 8835; E-mail: asaier(at)unfccc.int
UNFCCC Press Office: press(at)unfccc.int
See also: http://unfccc.int

See all News