ZeniZeni's founder, Malango Mughogho, was part of UN Secretary-General António Guterres' High-Level Expert Group on net-zero commitments of non-state entities.
Integrity Matters report
The Group released its Integrity Matters report during COP27, at an event during which the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt, Dr Mohieldin, spoke.
The UN Secretary General described the report as a “how-to guide to ensure credible, accountable net-zero pledges”, providing clarity on “environmental integrity, credibility, accountability and the role of governments.” He also asked that:
By the first half of 2023, all existing net-zero voluntary initiatives must explain how they will align and revise their standards accordingly -- and all new initiatives must abide by these recommendations.
UN agencies working on developing, implementing, or in any way supporting voluntary pledges, to abide by these standards and criteria.
All net-zero voluntary initiatives accelerate efforts to standardize progress reports, in an open format and via public platforms that feed into the UNFCCC’s Global Climate Action Portal, which is already being used to register pledges, publish transition plans, and track annual reporting on implementation.
The report also contains a section on follow-up actions, one of which is the creation of an international Task Force on Net Zero Regulation because we see great value in building a community of regulators and policymakers, that are connected around climate issues. Such a Task Force could:
Connect regulators both across borders and across regulatory domains identify major challenges hindering the acceleration of climate-positive regulation, and troubleshoot these through information-sharing and collaboration between regulatory bodies,
Help regulators complement voluntary climate action with clear rules that are both nationally appropriate and internationally consistent, in areas such as disclosure, claims, procurement, product standards, trade and investment, and others.
Download the report below:
The aim of the UN HLEG was to develop stronger and clearer standards for net-zero emissions pledges by non-state entities – such as businesses, investors, cities and regions – and speed up their implementation.
Tasked with ensuring the credibility and environmental integrity of net-zero pledges, the Expert Group held their inaugural gathering on 27 April 2022.
The group's tasks
The HLEG's main task was to make recommendations promoting more ambitious climate action, and environmental integrity, addressing four specific areas:
Current standards and definitions for setting net-zero targets;
Credibility criteria used to assess the objectives, measurement and reporting of net-zero pledges;
Processes for verification and accounting of progress towards net-zero commitments and reported decarbonization plans; and
A roadmap to translate standards and criteria into international and national level regulations.
Learn more about the group here.