Joew Bedon*
Achieving net zero emissions has evolved into a defining goal for climate action in the five years since the Paris Agreement. We examine more than 4000 nations, businesses, and local government units, which collectively account for the majority of world emissions. We discover that 769 of these businesses have net zero aims, but only 152 of them meet the minimal standards for robustness in terms of governance, timing, status, and coverage. Although the idea of net zero is now widely accepted, its operationalization is still in its early stages. To execute Paris-consistent action and secure more ambitious targets, authorities should prioritise making net zero targets resilient. Target status (including enacting targets into law), coverage of activities, restrictions on and transparency surrounding the use of offsets, and disclosure of plans and progress reports are the areas that need strengthening the most.By establishing criteria for strong net zero targets and empowering organisations, especially those in the global South, to meet the technical and resource demands necessary to successfully operationalize net zero emission targets, policymakers should work to strengthen net zero targets. While robust net zero aims only cover around 5% of the global economy, net zero targets currently encompass 2/3 of it.