Net Zero Stocktake 2025

To have a realistic chance of limiting global average temperature increase to near 1.5°C with limited overshoot, the world must reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions in the early 2050s, alongside rapid, deep, and sustained reductions in other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. All GHGs should reach net zero about two decades later.

Net Zero Stocktake 2025 assesses progress in setting and strengthening whole-economy net zero targets, and evaluates more than 4,000 entities on integrity criteria — essentially, whether plans and strategies contain the key components for deep decarbonisation.

Our fifth annual report also examines how companies are integrating nature into their climate commitments.

Key findings:

• Target-setting still rising, despite political headwinds. As of September 2025, at least 1,935 entities have net zero (or similar) targets — up from 769 in December 2020. Globally, target-setting is expanding across companies, regions and cities.
• Countries: 137 of 198 national governments (including the EU and Taiwan) have net zero targets. Nineteen of the G20 have adopted net zero targets, though overall country-level coverage has dipped compared with 2024 due to the U.S. federal government abandoning its commitment. Encouragingly, 67% of remaining national targets are now enshrined in law or policy, up from 52% last year.

• Companies: Almost two-thirds (63%) of the Forbes Global 2000 have net zero targets, covering $36.6 trillion in revenue (70% of total). In the U.S., company commitments grew by 9% in the past year.

• Subnational governments: Coverage now extends to 2.55 billion people worldwide, a five-fold increase since 2020. Still, nearly half of subnational governments and companies still lack any mitigation target.

• Integrity of targets remains low. Only 7% of companies, 6.5% of regions, and 4% of cities meet all minimum procedural and substantive integrity requirements (the 'starting line') — though company and city progress has climbed modestly in the past year.

• Nature under scrutiny. Around one-third of companies plan to use nature-based carbon removals, but only 4% set dedicated removal targets — raising questions about transparency and the credibility of their intended emission reductions.

Of the 198 countries, 712 regions, 1,186 cities, and 1,987 publicly listed companies tracked, at least 1,935 now have net zero targets:

• 137 countries (up from 124 in 2020)

• 216 states and regions (up from 73)

• 337 cities (up from 115)

• 1,245 companies (up from 417).

Buoyancy amidst backlash

Target-setting in Asia is rising steadily — with net zero commitments increasing in China (48 to 60), India (29 to 34), Japan (from 184 to 199), South Korea (41 to 48), Taiwan (26 to 35) and Thailand (11 to 15).

U.S. subnational action sustains momentum at home, and abroad:

• The U.S. federal government’s withdrawal cut global net zero coverage from 93% to 77% of GDP.
• Yet 19 U.S. states remain committed. Including these state-level targets lifts global coverage back up to 83% of GDP.

U.S. corporate net zero ambition remains robust:

• Net zero commitments by U.S. headquartered companies grew 9% in the last year — from 279 to 304, including new commitments from eBay, Merck & Co and Goodyear.
• These 304 companies account for $12 trillion in global revenue — 64% of U.S. corporate revenue assessed, the largest absolute share worldwide.

Gaps in planning

A pledge without an accompanying plan cannot be considered a credible commitment. Targets alone are not a reliable proxy for climate ambition, as headline announcements are often weakened by caveats or omissions.

This year’s Stocktake finds that worldwide, just over two-thirds of Forbes Global 2000 companies with net zero targets (860 out of 1,245) back them up with plans, leaving 385 companies — nearly one in three — without a clear roadmap.

Across blocs, G7 and G20 countries show identical planning gaps of 33%, while companies in the rest of the world perform slightly better, with only a quarter lacking plans.

Net zero and nature: The next test of integrity?

Net zero cannot be achieved without investing in, protecting and restoring nature — but some current corporate practice risks turning nature into a loophole. For example, over a quarter of companies plan to use removals, yet only 4% set dedicated targets. A lack of clear, separate targets risks blurring the line between genuine decarbonisation and compensation.

Overreliance on land-based removals invites questions of permanence, land-use conflict and credibility. Among the world’s 30 largest food and agriculture firms, short-term targets are fading while reliance on land-based removals grows.

Our Stocktake pinpoints four pressure points where integrity under strain: carbon offsets, biodiversity credits, land-based removals and bioenergy. Handled with care, these can make nature a pillar of net zero; mishandled, and they could undermine it.

The path forward

Despite talk of a 'net zero recession', most governments and companies are persisting — and in many cases strengthening — their commitments. The US federal retreat is an outlier; momentum across Asia continues to build, and no other major emitter has followed Washington's withdrawal. Several oil, gas and financial firms have weakened or abandoned targets, but the broader trend is one of resilience.

Net zero targets have continued to grow in number, even in 2025 — the most contested year yet — because they remain tied to prosperity, security and competitiveness. Low-carbon sectors are booming, fossil fuel demand is nearing structural decline, and clean energy is attracting investment at twice the rate of fossil fuels.

By COP30 in Belém, Brazil, countries should submit new 2035 targets (NDC 3.0) that reflect both rapid clean energy deployment and robust climate–nature integration. With solar capacity doubling in just three years, EV sales surging, and global clean energy investment on track to double fossil fuels in 2025, the opportunity for ambitious new commitments is clear.

Net zero is not inevitable, but its persistence through the turbulence of 2025 is itself a powerful signal. The challenge now is to ensure that the next generation of targets, plans and policies is resilient enough to survive political turbulence and deliver deep decarbonisation.