Climate Target Watchdog Keeps 1.5C Goal as Global Support Wavers

The main standard setter for corporate climate targets said it won’t validate net-zero claims by companies that abandon the landmark 1.5C goal, pushing back against growing skepticism.

The Science Based Targets initiative is revising its so-called Corporate Net-Zero Standard, which sets out the requirements companies need to meet if they want their emissions claims validated. A draft proposal released on Tuesday recommends significant changes to accelerate investments in curbing emissions.

“The temporary breach of the 1.5C global warning threshold in 2024 and growing impact of climate change underscore the critical importance of accelerating efforts to phase out greenhouse gas emissions from our economy,” SBTi said.

The renewed commitment comes as the Trump administration takes a wrecking ball to climate initiatives, as part of a wave of deregulation that’s had ripple effects across international markets. At the same time, failure to rein in emissions means the world is now on track for warming of roughly twice the critical 1.5C threshold, with the World Meteorological Organization estimating that 2024 was the hottest year on record.

The finance industry is already abandoning voluntary initiatives intended to align their businesses with 1.5C, with the Net-Zero Banking Alliance now virtually wiped off the map in North America.

To speed up the transition, SBTi is proposing that companies move to low-carbon electricity no later than 2040. To better tackle so-called Scope 3 emissions, it’s considering replacing requirements that companies target 67% of carbon in their value chains in the near term and 90% in the long term. Instead, SBTi proposes that firms prioritize the heaviest sources of pollution and those with which they have the greatest leverage.

“To reach net-zero emissions, it is critical for companies to align their procurement and revenue-generating activities with global climate goals,” SBTi said.

The proposed changes, which also differentiate between larger and smaller companies, follow years of complaints around the difficulty of getting accurate emissions data and setting such sweeping goals. Since SBTi released the first version of the standard in 2021, more than 1,500 companies have had net-zero targets validated by the group.

In addition, SBTi proposed requirements for transition plans and limited assurance, in keeping with European demands. It also proposed a new system for monitoring alignment which includes spot checks and guidelines on what companies can claim.

The goal is to ensure “companies not only commit to science-based climate action but also demonstrate measurable progress and continuous improvement,” according to SBTi’s proposal. A growing number of companies are nearing the end of their near-term targets, and that’s creating “demand for clearer guidance on determining target progress.”

Bloomberg Philanthropies, the philanthropic organization of Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, is a project-specific funder of SBTi.