The State is the only one that can declare the rules which make it possible to redirect investments into carbon reduction sectors at the expense of brown assets; as well as being able to implement financial incentives and adequate regulations, educate employees about climate issues, and, if necessary, consider climate concern during commercial negotiations.
Individual and household involvement in reducing the carbon footprint in lifestyles is crucial, yet also insufficient to reach the reduction targets and to aim for carbon neutrality in 2050.
Likewise, technical efficiency and improvement are essential, but not enough.
The intersection between individual action and public engagement is yet central: pushing governments, voting for greener initiatives and politicians and demanding climate response in every economic sector is fundamental to promote change for sustainability.
Efforts that are still not anywhere strong enough.
To keep global warming below 1.5°C this century, the world needs to urgently put additional plans and action in place to almost halve annual greenhouse gas emissions in the next eight years.
Net-zero emissions is a state where the sum of all anthropogenic emissions and removals is zero. Setting net-zero emissions targets at the national level involves several steps which represent both technical choices and normative decisions related to equity and fairness Net-zero plans, if implemented effectively and reflected in NDCs, could go a long way to closing the gap. However, many of national climate plans delay action until after 2030.
A total of 49 countries plus the EU have pledged a net-zero target. This covers over half of global domestic greenhouse gas emissions, over half of GDP and a third of the global population. Eleven targets are enshrined in law, covering 12 per cent of global emissions.
Twelve G20 members have pledged a net-zero target, but they are still highly ambiguous.
Carbon markets can deliver real emissions abatement and drive ambition, but only when rules are clearly defined. only 5 per cent of global climate finance flows are spent on adaptation - although UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ has appealed that 50 per cent of total climate finance should be committed to adaptation. (UNEP 2021)