Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is updating its Corporate Net-Zero Standard that launched in 2021 with ambitious reform which will further sharpen how companies have been handling residual emissions, thus increasing overall transparency. This is likely to focus on primary areas of carbon removal and storage, largely drawn from new climate science and consulting with global stakeholders.
Sharpening Residual Emission Neutralisation
The revision puts a great deal of emphasis on the techniques firms use to neutralize residual emissions after reaching long-term reduction targets. The revised Standard says net zero will be achieved with clearer guidance given to credible, science-backed methods of carbon removal and storage. It has been refined in line with more recent IPCC findings from the Sixth Assessment Report to make sure that these claims for net zero are robustly validated.
SBTi has focused on making the pathway to net-zero action and credible. The latest updated guidelines allow for reduction beyond reduction and move towards scientifically grounded practices to achieve net-zero by neutralizing unremittable emissions.
Carbon removal-related workshops towards shaping strategies
To gather industry input for this revision, SBTi is holding two key workshops: one that will occur during Climate Week NYC and another in London later this October. These workshops will discuss carbon dioxide removal and storage technologies to elicit, through opinion of experts, advice on the role of such a development in hitting net-zero targets.
The insights emanated will also constitute an SBTi research paper that will inform the changes made to the updated Standard, hence a scoping of revised interests informed by the varied perspectives as well as carbon removal technologies’ latest advancements.
Increased Scope and Objectives
Apart from updating neutralization, the new Standard will emphasize the following as fundamentally important:
– Reconciliation with Latest Science: The updated Standard will reflect the latest scientifically current IPCC and all other global climate initiatives science. This ensures that firms’ targets are net-zero based on the latest climate science and best practices.
– The Standard for Scope 3 Target Setting to be Strengthened: SBTi is also enhancing the standard for scope 3 target setting. The indirect emissions embedded in a company’s value chain are helpful in the effective decarbonization of an organization. The new Standard will allow for more differentiated forms of dealing with indirect emissions.
Regular Target Review Cycles: While the new Standard would require the companies to review and update their targets on regular cycles, it would ensure that their net-zero goals are in line with changing good practice and scientific knowledge.
Public Consultation and Final Steps
A draft version of the revised Corporate Net-Zero Standard will be published late 2024 or early 2025 in a manner enabling public consultation following the workshops and the subsequent research. This should enable stakeholders all over the world to comment so that the Standard reflects their differing needs and remains applicable around the world.
Publication of the final draft of Corporate Net-Zero Standard 2.0 is expected in the last quarter of 2025. The exercise will be followed by improved corporate target-setting tools and a report detailing all the feedback received throughout this revision process.
Conclusion
The corporate net-zero standard now under development is a significant step forward in the race for global net-zero targets. With improved methods for emission neutralization and incorporating new climate science, SBTi is trying to strengthen corporate net-zero ambitions in credibility as well as effectiveness. Workshops and public consultation will inform, in turn, a robust, science-based, and transparent pathway to a sustainable future supported by the Standard.