It’s for the world to double down on efforts to reach net zero, according to a report released last week by the United Nation’s “High-level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities,” a group of international environmentalists the institution formed in March.

The group was tasked with investigating how to develop stronger standards for companies that make net-zero emission pledges and speed up their implementation.

The result is a report listing recommendations, including speeding up the phasing out of fossil fuels, more regulations for businesses, more lobbying, and more accountability.

That means cracking down on greenwashing—the practice of companies saying they are adopting net zero values when they are not truly committed to the cause. And it is going to take money to make it happen.

“We urgently need every business, investor, city, state and region to walk the talk on their net zero promises. We cannot afford slow movers, fake movers, or any form of greenwashing,” António Guterres, U.N. Secretary General said.

Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, according to the United Nations, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere by oceans, forests or other natural features.

“We are making progress, but we are still too far from where we need to be,” the group’s chair Catherine McKenna, former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, wrote in an introduction to the study.

“We are at an inflection point that will accelerate the shift from fossil fuels towards a cleaner and more secure future. We need to make sure that happens,” she wrote. “We know what we need to do: peak global emissions in just three years, by 2025, and cut emissions in half in less than eight years, by 2030. Money needs to move from funding fossil fuel infrastructure and instead be invested at scale in clean energy.”

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, on June 13, 2019. (Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press)

Companies cannot claim to be net zero while continuing to build or invest in new fossil fuel supplies of coal, oil and gas, the report says.

“Net zero is entirely incompatible with continued investment in fossil fuels. Similarly, deforestation and other environmentally destructive activities are disqualifying,” the report says. “There is no room for new investment in fossil fuel supply and there is a need to decommission and cancel existing [fossil fuel] assets.”

The report asks for total commitment. Instead of just lowering emissions, companies that wish to be called net zero must tackle their full value chain, from material sourcing, production, consumer use, and disposal of product.

And don’t say your company is net zero if you are badmouthing green policies. Businesses cannot be net zero if they lobby to undermine governmental climate policies either directly or through trade associations, the report says. Instead, they must align their advocacy, governance and business strategies with their climate commitments. This includes spending in support of net zero targets and linking executive compensation to demonstrated climate action results.

Enforcement

It’s tough to conduct net zero verification and enforcement while climate policies are voluntary. The movement needs regulation, according to the report.

“To effectively tackle greenwashing and ensure a level playing field, non-state actors need to move from voluntary initiatives to regulated requirements for net zero,” McKenna said in the report. “Many large non-state actors—especially privately held companies and state-owned enterprises—have not yet made net zero commitments which raises competitiveness concerns. This picture is changing fast, but it still requires the resolve of governments and regulators to level up the global playing field. This is why we call for regulation starting with large corporate emitters including assurance on their net zero pledges and mandatory annual progress reporting.”

This is to prevent dishonest climate accounting and other actions designed to circumvent the need for deep decarbonization, the report said. Companies must publicly report on their progress with verified information that can be compared with peers.

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If becoming net zero seems like a big commitment, companies must consider the consequences if they don’t get on board with the agenda. Banks may not work with companies that don’t meet the standards. The report calls for financial institutions to have policies of not investing or financing businesses linked to deforestation. They should also eliminate support of agricultural commodity-driven deforestation from their investment and credit portfolios by 2025, the report recommends.

Timeline for Killing Coal

The report calls for cities and regions to allow no more permits for the expansion of coal reserves for power generation. Nor should they allow exploration of new coal mines or the extension of use of existing coal mines. There should be no coal plants by 2030 in the 38 countries that are members of the U.N.’s Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). That includes the United States but not China. Countries in the rest of the world should stop using coal for power generation by 2040, the report says.

New fossil fuel-based electricity generation should not be permitted and the transition away from fossil fuels must be matched by a fully funded transition toward renewable energy.

Residential luxury apartments on the island of Hong Kong. (Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty Images)

Ultimately, these policies will be felt in housing.

To protect the environment, cities and regions should promote compact, dense housing development. This is better able to protect existing nature, the report says. It shows a photo of high-rise apartments as an ideal for housing.

It advises governments to build transit-oriented and not car-oriented development. By the end of the decade, the report predicts $1 trillion a year will be needed to help developing countries achieve net zero.