Arunabha Ghosh Appointed by UN Chief in High-Level Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments

On March 31, the High-Level Expert Group on Non-State Entities' Net-Zero Emissions Commitments was established. Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the Delhi-based Council for Energy, Environment, and Water, has been named to a high-level group convened by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to strengthen action to combat global warming. Ghosh is one of three Asians on the expert panel and the only South Asian.

The High-Level Expert Group on Non-State Entities' Net-Zero Emissions Commitments was established on March 31 and is expected to develop an action plan and recommend actions to businesses and non-state actors to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions, or when carbon emitted by human sources is compensated by sucking carbon out of the atmosphere. atmosphere.

Currently, the majority of countries have committed to becoming net-zero by the end of the year. India, for example, has set a target date of 2070, while the United States has committed to a date of 2050.

Catherine McKenna, former Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, will lead the 16-member group, which is tasked with reviewing current standards and definitions for setting net-zero targets; determining whether proponents have used credibility criteria to assess the objectives, measurement, and reporting of net-zero pledges; and developing a roadmap for translating standards and criteria into international and national-level regulations.

"Governments bear the lion's share of the responsibility for achieving net-zero emissions by the mid-century target." Specifically, the G20.

"However, we urgently need every business, investor, city, state, and region to walk the walk on their net-zero commitments," Guterres said in a statement. "To avert a climate catastrophe, bold pledges must be matched by concrete action.”

"Net-zero standards that are more stringent and accountability that is more stringent Implementing these commitments can result in real and immediate emissions reductions," he added.

Since the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world has seen an increase in net-zero commitments from non-state actors, particularly the private and financial sectors, as well as local governments and regions. The increase in pledges has been accompanied by a proliferation of criteria and benchmarks for establishing net-zero commitments of varying robustness.