Speed & Scale is a platform and global action plan to zero out the world’s 59 gigatons of annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It is organized around objectives and key results (OKRs), a goal-setting protocol based on transparent measurement. As such, our platform is driven by the best available data. In short, we strive to measure what matters.
OKR Framework
The OKR framework originated at Intel and has since been adopted by thousands of organizations, from Google to the Gates Foundation. Objectives define what we aim to achieve. Key results (KRs) are quantitative targets that tell us how we’ll achieve our objectives. Well-framed objectives are significant, action-oriented, durable, and inspirational. Effective key results are specific, timebound, ambitious, measurable, and verifiable. OKRs focus on what’s most important: the handful of essential action steps to arrive at a given result. They also enable us to track our progress as we go.
In crafting key results for the original 2021 publication of Speed & Scale and its corresponding action plan, we relied on the good judgment of over 100 policy experts, entrepreneurs, scientists, and other world-class climate leaders.
Fifty-Nine Gigatons
There are 59 gigatons – 59 billion tons – of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year. To break down those 59 gigatons into categories, Speed & Scale relies on greenhouse gas emissions data from the United Nations and specifically the latest UNEP Emissions Gap Report (2020), which details 2019 emissions by sector.
This report defines the emissions trends for each sector over the last three decades:
Speed & Scale maps this data to five sectors of the global economy: transportation, electricity, agriculture, nature, and industry. In each case, we round to the nearest gigaton of CO2e.
Our plan features six “solution” objectives to achieve our top-line goal: to solve the climate crisis by cutting overall global emissions to net zero by 2050. The first five correspond to sectors of the global economy, as noted above. The sixth solution objective, carbon removal, addresses the 10 gigatons of residual CO2e that will be left over after the first five are achieved–hence the term net zero.
The Speed & Scale Plan also includes four “accelerant” objectives that will drive these solutions to the finish line by our 2050 deadline: politics and policy, movements, innovation, and investment.
Some key results overlap in their potential emissions-cutting impact. To avoid double-counting, we attribute the potential reduction to a single KR. For instance, some key results help the world achieve others; achieving KR 1.1., on EV price parity will lead to greater purchasing of KR 1.2, which targets the share of EV purchases.
Tracking Approach
To help track our OKRs, we source datasets from more than 30 organizations, including BloombergNEF, BP’s Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, Climate Action Tracker, ClimateWorks, Global Forest Watch, Global Energy Monitor, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). We pull data from these sources into our tracking framework to monitor changes over time.
Color Ratings
To assess performance on our key results with greater clarity, Speed & Scale uses a five-tiered, color-coded rating system.
Code Red
Negative progress or no meaningful year-over-year change, with at least 3 gigatons of impact
Failing
Negative progress or no meaningful year-over-year change, with less than three gigatons of impact (~5% of total emissions)
Insufficient Progress
Positive rate of change, but missing interim target (or end target if no available interim target)
On Track
Rate of change on track to reach interim target (or end target if no available interim target) within ~5%
Achieved
Target has been reached
Where sufficient reliable data is unavailable, the key result is categorized as “Limited Data.” This designation applies to three key results in the 2024 tracker update: KR 3.1 (Farm Soils), KR 8.2 (Government), and KR 10.1 (Financial Incentives). These are also areas where we would welcome new data sources and encourage others to create and maintain data sources.
Collection Guidelines
We chose datasets based on the following criteria:
1. Global reach: We note where data sets are unavailable.
2. Consistency: We prioritize datasets that report on a consistent basis.
3. Accuracy: We use datasets from credible and trustworthy sources.
4. Accessibility: We use publicly and commercially available sources wherever available, including some datasets with paywalls. All sources are clearly noted and linked.
5. Timeliness: This tracker update reflects the most up-to-date and complete annual data available for 2023 and years prior.
6. Utility: Where possible, we opt for datasets that can be easily translated by our readers.
Challenges
Beyond cases with limited data (see above), datasets may be reported annually, biannually, quarterly, monthly, or weekly. When the cycles were other than annual, we averaged multiple data points to annualize the data. We note this accordingly. In some cases, the latest available annual data was gathered as far back as 2019. We are selective in using projections. Where projections are meaningful and data sources do not furnish their own forecasts, we make forward projections using linear and exponential growth models.
We invite anyone with access to high-quality data to help us improve our measurement of the world’s progress on climate change. You can reach us at act@speedandscale.com.