UN “Race to Zero” campaign requires members to align lobbying activities with climate goals

On June 15, 2022, Race to Zero released an updated set of criteria for its members, pressing on the implementation of net zero commitments and holding organisations accountable for their commitments.

Race to Zero is the UN-backed global campaign rallying non-state actors – including companies, cities, regions, financial and educational institutions – to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030 and deliver a healthier, fairer zero carbon world in time.

- Race to Zero Campaign Overview

This is a very significant development as it mandates over 7,000 companies to review and assess their climate-related lobbying and its consistency with a 1.5°C world – which would require very significant policy change from the current state. Most companies’ lobbying takes place through trade associations, and this new criterion will require companies to develop processes to understand their trade associations’ positions on climate policy and address any misalignments, including criteria on when a company disengages from a trade association. Most companies will not currently have comprehensive and transparent mechanisms to do this in place, so this announcement could lead to significant progress on responsible lobbying.

Criteria update on lobbying:

The Race to Zero criteria are delineated in two categories:

‘Starting line’ criteria which all members must meet to join and remain in the campaign, and

‘Leadership practices’ which map out example pathways for leading entities to take and light the way towards to a net-zero global economy.

The June update introduced a new criterion (“Persuade”) in the ‘Starting line’ criteria, requiring members to align their lobbying and advocacy activities with net zero by proactively supporting climate policies at subnational and national levels consistent with the Race to Zero criteria. With this development, the ‘Starting line’ criteria now consist of 5 Ps - Pledge, Plan, Proceed, Publish and Persuade (View document here).

View Interpretation guide here.

It is important to note that, not only did the update recognise the role of lobbying in the climate pledge / action arena, but it also captured lobbying conducted through intermediaries. As the Responsible Lobbying Framework frequently addressed (especially in Principle 3. Consistency & Principle 4. Accountability), lobbying-related standards need to consider potential divergence between organisations’ public statements and their effective actions, including actions they originate and actions they indirectly propel.

An assessment framework may be called for to evaluate Race to Zero members going forward and build momentum around the shift towards implementation of climate pledges and accountability.

Who will this impact:

Race to Zero members form the largest (and growing) alliance of non-state actors, including the leading net zero initiatives. Together they represent 52 regions, 1103 cities, 7126 companies, 1103 educational institutions, 541 financial institutions, over 3,000 hospitals from 60 healthcare institutions and 24 “other” institutions.

The updated criteria have come into effect for new members joining from 15th June onwards, and all existing members and Partner organisations will need to meet the criteria by 15th June 2023 at the latest.

Other highlighted updates include requirements to ‘phase down and out all unabated fossil fuels as part of a just transition’, to publicly disclose a Transition Plan (or equivalent), and to include financed/portfolio/facilitated emissions in transition plans for financial institutions.