List of Countries with Net-Zero Commitments and Climate Accountability Legislation
Researched and compiled by Nick Zrinyi, Policy Analyst
The contents of this document are for information purposes only. Nothing in this document should be construed as legal or professional advice and you may not rely on the contents of this document as such.
Net-zero commitments can take the form of legislation, a submission to the UN, a policy statement, a coalition agreement, other credible public proclamations, or any combination thereof. It is important to note that net-zero commitments and climate accountability legislation are different, though there is some overlap. A country can have a commitment without legislation, or they can have a commitment that was made recently that is not reflected in older legislation. Finland, for example, has a coalition agreement as of 2019 to reach net-zero by 2035, however, their 2015 Climate Change Act only requires an 80% reduction by 2050. We also acknowledge the 121 countries, of which there is also overlap, who are participants in the Climate Ambition Alliance. Their commitment involves “working towards achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050”, however, the nature of this commitment, its terms, and specific requirements aren’t clear at this time and are therefore included here for information rather than the tables below.
These lists are meant to be illustrative rather than exhaustive and are valid as of March 2021.
Highlights
- Two nations have already achieved net net-zero emission and now claim to be carbon negative.
- Thirty-three other countries have made commitments to achieve carbon neutrality before or by 2050.
- There are five OECD countries that have net-zero commitments earlier than 2050.
- At least 15 countries have enshrined some system of climate accountability in legislation. Because there is no international standard of “accountability”, this category could be expanded significantly, depending on what criteria is used. The ones listed are either recent, comprehensive or easy to find (none were intentionally excluded).
| CRITERIA | NO. COUNTRIES |
|---|---|
| Already carbon-negative | 2 |
| Commitment – before 2050 | 7 |
| Commitment – by 2050 | 26 |
| Commitment – after 2050 | 3 |
| Legislation – before/by 2050 | 11 |
| Legislation – after 2050 | 4 |
Countries with Net-Zero Commitments
Net-Zero Already Achieved or Before 2050
| COUNTRY | SOURCE | NET-ZERO DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Suriname | UN News (2020) | Achieved 2014 |
| Bhutan | Policy Brief (2021) | Achieved...Always |
| Maldives | Submission to UN (2020) | 2030 |
| Norway | Policy Position (2015) | 2030 (2050 without intl offsets) |
| Uruguay | Submission to UN (2020) | 2030 |
| Finland | Coalition Agreement (2019) | 2035 |
| Iceland | Climate Strategy (2020) | 2040 |
| Austria | Policy Position (2020) | 2040 |
| Sweden | Climate Policy Framework (2017) | 2045 |
Net-Zero After 2050
| COUNTRY | SOURCE | NET-ZERO DATE |
|---|---|---|
| China | Announcement to UN (2020) (2019) | 2060 |
| Brazil | Submission to UN (2020) | 2060 |
| Singapore | Submission to UN (2020) |
“As soon as viable in the second half of the century” |
Net-Zero By 2050
| COUNTRY | SOURCE | NET-ZERO DATE |
|---|---|---|
| EUROPE | ||
| The United Kingdom | UK becomes first major economy to pass net zero emissions law (2019) | 2050 |
| France | Loi relative à l'énergie et au climat (2019) | 2050 |
| Denmark | Climate Act (2020) | 2050 |
| Germany | Germany’s Climate Action Law (2020) | 2050 |
| New Zealand | Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act (2019) | 2050 |
| Hungary | Bill on the Declaration of the Climate Emergency (2020) (Hungarian) | 2050 |
| Japan | Japan net zero emissions pledge puts coal in the spotlight (2020) | 2050 |
| South Korea | Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Switzerland | Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Slovakia | Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Spain | Policy Position (2020) | 2050 |
| Portugal | Policy Position (2018) | 2050 |
| The European Union | Green Deal (2019) | 2050 |
| Ireland | Coalition Agreement (2020) | 2050 |
| AMERICAS | ||
| Argentina | Updated Plan to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Chile | Policy Position (2019) and Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Colombia | Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Costa Rica | Policy Position (2019) and Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Panama | Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Grenada | Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| The United States | Election Promise (2020) | 2050 |
| Canada | Policy Position (2020) | 2050 |
| ALL OTHER | ||
| Fiji | Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Marshall Islands | Submission to UN (2020) | 2050 |
| Nepal | Submission to UN (2018) | 2050 |
| South Africa | Policy Position (2018) | 2050 |
Countries with Climate Accountability Legislation
Net-Zero by 2050
| COUNTRY | LAW | TARGET(S) |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | Climate Policy Framework (2017) | Net-zero by 2045 |
| The United Kingdom | Climate Change Act (2008) | Net-zero by 2050 |
| France | Loi relative à l’énergie et au climat (2019) | Net-zero by 2050 |
| Denmark | Climate Act (2020) | 70% in 2030 compared to 1990 and net-zero by 2050 |
| Norway | Climate Change Act (2018) | 2050 |
| Fiji | Climate Change Act (2019) (Draft) | Net-zero by 2050 |
| New Zealand | Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act (2019) | Net-zero by 2050 |
| Hungary | Bill on the Declaration of the Climate Emergency (2020) (Hungarian) | 55% by 2030, net-zero by 2050 |
| Spain | Bill on Climate Change and the Energy Transition (2020) | Net-zero by 2050 at the latest |
| Germany | Climate Action Law (2020) | Net-zero by 2050 |
| Ireland | Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill (2021) | Net-zero by 2050 |
Net-Zero After 2050, or Not at All
| COUNTRY | LAW | TARGET(S) |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | General Law on Climate Change (2012) | 50% below 2000 levels by 2050 |
| Algeria | The National Climate Plan (2013) | 7 to 22% by 2030 against a 2013 baseline |
| The Netherlands | Climate Act (2019) | 49% by 2030 and 95% by 2050, 100% clean electricity by 2050 |
| Finland | Climate Change Act (2015) | 80% by 2050 |