An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now

1.0
Electrify Transportation
Reduce 8 gigatons of transportation emissions to 2 gigatons by 2050.
1.1
Price

Achieve price parity between EVs and gas-powered vehicles in the U.S. by 2024, in India and China by 2030.

Updated April 2024
Insufficient Progress

$54,288 (average EV) vs. $47,209 (average full-size car) in the U.S.

Source: Kelley Blue Book, 2023

1.2
Cars

Increase EV sales to 50% of all new car sales by 2030, 95% by 2040.

Updated April 2024
On Track

EV share of car sales was 17.7% in 2023

(BEVs and PHEVs)

Source: BloombergNEF, 2024

1.3
Buses

Electrify all new buses by 2025.

Updated April 2024
Insufficient Progress

43% of new bus purchases were electric in 2023

Source: BloombergNEF, 2023

1.4
Trucks

Increase sales of zero-emissions medium and heavy trucks to 30% of all new truck sales by 2030; 95% by 2045.

Updated April 2024
Failing

Electric share of global truck sales was 2% in 2023

(BEVs, FCVs, and PHEVs)

Source: BloombergNEF, 2023

1.5
Miles ↓ 5 Gt

Increase miles driven by electric vehicles (two- and three-wheelers, cars, buses, and trucks) to 50% of the global total by 2040, 95% by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Insufficient Progress

EV global share of miles driven across road vehicles in 2022: 10.4%

(BEVs, FCVs, and PHEVs)

Source: BloombergNEF, 2023

1.6
Planes ↓ 0.3 Gt

Increase low-carbon fuel (SAF) to 20% of all aviation fuel by 2025; zero-emissions fuel to 40% by 2040.

Updated April 2024
Failing

0.4% of fuel use is low carbon (SAF)

Source: BloombergNEF, 2024

1.7
Maritime ↓ 0.6 Gt

Shift all new construction to “zero-ready” ships by 2030; zero out emissions for the shipping industry by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Failing

Zero percent of new ships are carbon-neutral

Source: Global Martime Forum, 2023

2.0
Decarbonize the Grid
Reduce 24 gigatons of global electricity and heating emissions to 3 gigatons by 2050.
2.1
Zero Emissions ↓ 16.5 Gt

Tap emissions-free sources to generate 50% of electricity worldwide by 2025, 90% by 2035.

Updated April 2024
Insufficient Progress

39% of electricity came from emissions free sources in 2022

Source: Energy Institute, 2023

2.2
Solar & Wind

Make solar and wind cheaper than fossil fuels in all countries by 2025.

Updated June 2024
On Track

59% of the world’s population lives in nations where renewable sources are cheaper than fossil fuels

Source: BloombergNEF, 2024

2.3
Storage

Electricity storage drops below $50 per kWh for short duration (4–24 hours) by 2025, $10 per kWh for long duration (14–30 days) by 2030.

Updated April 2024
Failing

Short-term storage: $263/kWh

Long-term storage: New technologies needed

Source: BloombergNEF, 2023

2.4
Coal & Gas

Eliminate new coal and gas plants from 2024 on; retire or zero out emissions in existing plants by 2025 for coal and by 2035 for gas.*

Updated April 2024
Code Red

Now in operation globally: 6,580 coal-fired plants and 9,278 gas and oil plants

Source: Global Energy Monitor, 2024

As of 2023, separate figures for oil and gas plants are not available.

 

2.5
Methane Emissions ↓ 3 Gt

Reduce flaring and eliminate leaks and venting from coal, oil, and gas sites by 2025.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

Methane emissions from the energy sector were 3 gigatons in 2023

2.6
Heating & Cooking ↓ 1.5 Gt

Cut fossil fuels for heating and cooking in half by 2040.*

Updated April 2024
Failing

In 2021, building heating generated 2.5 Gt of emissions and over 7 billion people used fossil fuels for cooking

2.7
Cleaner Economy

Triple the ratio of GDP to fossil fuel consumption.

Updated April 2024
Failing

Global average: $241 of GDP per Exajoule of Fossil Fuel Consumption

3.0
Fix Food
Reduce 9 gigatons of agricultural emissions to 2 gigatons by 2050.
3.1
Farm Soils ↓ 2 Gt

Improve soil health by increasing carbon content in topsoils to a minimum of 3% by 2035.

Updated May 2024
Limited Data

Limited Data

3.2
Fertilizers ↓ 0.5 Gt

Stop overuse of nitrogen-based fertilizers and develop cleaner alternatives to cut emissions in half by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Failing

The world uses 65.5 kilograms per hectare of nitrogen-based fertilizers

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization and Our World in Data, 2023

3.3
Cows ↓ 3 Gt

Cut emissions from beef and dairy consumption by 25% by 2030, 50% by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

3.3 gigatons of emissions from beef and dairy in 2021

3.4
Rice ↓ 0.5 Gt

Reduce methane and nitrous oxide from rice farming by 50% by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Failing

1.1 gigaton of CO2e resulting from rice production

Source: Our World in Data, 2024

3.5
Food Waste ↓ 1 Gt

Cut food waste to 10% by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Failing

38% of food in the US is wasted

Source: ReFed, 2022

4.0
Protect Nature
Go from 6 gigatons of emissions to -1 gigatons by 2050.
4.1
Forests ↓ 6 Gt

Achieve net zero deforestation by 2030; end logging and other destructive practices in primary forests.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

17.6 million hectares of permanent tree cover loss

Source: Global Forest Watch, 2022

4.2
Oceans ↓ 1 Gt

Protect 30% of oceans by 2030, 50% by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Failing

8.2% of coastal oceans are protected

Source: Protected Planet, 2024

4.3
Lands

Expand protected lands to 30% by 2030, 50% by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Failing

16% of global lands are protected

Source: Protected Planet, 2024

5.0
Clean Up Industry
Reduce 12 gigatons of industrial emissions to 4 gigatons by 2050.
5.1
Steel ↓ 3 Gt

Reduce emissions from steel production 50% by 2030, 90% by 2040.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

1.9 metric tons of CO2 per metric ton of crude steel cast

Source: WorldSteel, 2023

5.2
Cement ↓ 2 Gt

Reduce emissions from cement production 25% by 2030, 90% by 2040.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

0.6 metric tons of CO2 per metric ton of cement produced

5.3
Other Industries ↓ 3 Gt

Reduce emissions from other industrial sources (primarily plastics, chemicals, paper, aluminum, glass, and apparel) 60% by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

5 gigatons emitted from other industries

Source: Climate TRACE, 2024

6.0
Remove Carbon
Remove 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere.
6.1
Nature-Based Removal ↓ 5 Gt

Remove at least 3 gigatons per year by 2030 and 5 gigatons by 2040.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

0.02 gigatons of nature-based carbon removal being tracked

Source: Climate Focus, 2024

6.2
Engineered Removal ↓ 5 Gt

Remove at least 1 gigaton per year by 2030 and 5 gigatons by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

Currently, 0.0002 gigatons are being removed annually

Source: CDR.fyi, 2024

7.1
Net Zero Pledges

Each country commits to reach net zero by 2050.*

Updated April 2024
Insufficient Progress

China: net zero by 2060

U.S.: net zero by 2050

EU: net zero by 2050

India: net zero by 2070

Russia: net zero by 2060

7.2
Action Plans

Each country is on track to cut emissions in half by 2030.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

2030 trajectory:

China: 4°C

US: 3°C

EU: 2°C

India: 4°C

Russia: 4°C

 

Source: Climate Action Tracker, 2023

7.3
Carbon Price

National prices on greenhouse gases are set at a minimum of $75 per ton, rising 5% annually.

Updated April 2024
Insufficient Progress

Global average price: $33 per ton

23% of global emissions are covered by a carbon pricing mechanism

 

7.4
Subsidies

Direct subsidies to fossil fuel companies are eliminated.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

$1.3 trillion in explicit fossil fuel subsidies globally

7.5
Methane

Control flaring, prohibit venting, and mandate prompt capping of methane leaks.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

Countries representing 50% of global methane emissions have signed the global methane pledge

Source: Global Methane Pledge, 2024

7.6
Refrigerants

Countries commit to phasing out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

Updated April 2024
On Track

All five major emitters have ratified the Kigali amendment

8.1
Voters

The climate crisis becomes a top-three issue.

Updated April 2024
Failing

Climate’s rank as top issue: seventh globally

Source: Ipsos, 2023

 

8.2
Government

A majority of key government officials support the drive to net zero.

Updated April 2024
Limited Data

Limited Data

8.3
Business

100% of Fortune Global 500 companies commit to reach net zero by 2050.

Updated April 2024
Failing

9.2% of Fortune Global 500 Companies have a net zero commitment

Source: Speed & Scale, 2024

Data is pulled from Fortune Global 500 websites to track emissions targets of each corporation

8.4
Education Equity

The world achieves universal primary and secondary education by 2040.

Updated April 2024
Failing

77% of students complete lower secondary school

Source: World Bank, 2023

8.5
Health Equity

The world eliminates gaps in pollution-linked mortality rates among racial and socioeconomic groups by 2040.

Updated April 2024
Failing

2.3 years (global average loss of life due to air pollution)

Source: Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), 2023

8.6
Economic Equity

The global clean energy transition creates 65 million fairly distributed new jobs by 2040, outpacing the loss of fossil fuel jobs.

Updated April 2024
Insufficient Progress

13.7 million people employed directly and indirectly

9.1
Batteries

10,000 GWh of batteries are produced annually at less than $80 per kWh by 2035.

Updated April 2024
On Track

Production: 2,592 per GWh

Price: $139 per kWh 

Source: BloombergNEF, 2023

9.2
Electricity

The cost of zero-emissions baseload power is lowered to $0.02 per kWh by 2030.

Updated April 2024
On Track

$0.03 per kWh for utility-scale onshore wind

$0.05 per kWh for utility-scale solar PV

9.3
Green Hydrogen

Cost of producing hydrogen from zero-emissions sources drops to $2 per kg by 2030, $1 per kg by 2040.

Updated April 2024
Failing

$2-$12 per kg, not currently produced at scale

Source: BloombergNEF, 2023

9.4
Carbon Removal

Cost of engineered carbon dioxide removal falls to $100 per ton by 2030, $50 per ton by 2040.

Updated April 2024
Code Red

Average of $715 per ton of carbon removed, not at scale

Source: CDR.fyi, 2024

9.5
Carbon-Neutral Fuels

Cost of synthetic fuel drops to $2.50 per gallon for jet fuel and $3.50 for gasoline by 2035.

Updated April 2024
Failing

Jet Fuel: $2.94 (Traditional) vs. $7.35 (Sustainable)

Vehicle Fuel: $4.02 (Diesel) vs. $4.76 (Biodiesel)

Source: International Air Transport Association, BloombergNEF, and Alternative Fuels Data Center, 2023

Diesel and Biodiesel are U.S. prices

10.1
Financial Incentives

Global government support and incentives for clean energy expand to $600 billion per year.

Updated April 2024
Limited Data

Limited Data

10.2
Government R&D

Public investment in sustainability research and development increases to $120 billion per year.

Updated April 2024
Insufficient Progress

Low carbon R&D globally: $23 billion

10.3
Venture Capital

Private investment into cleantech startups totals $50 billion per year.

Updated April 2024
Achieved

$51 billion invested in climate tech startups

Source: BloombergNEF, 2024

10.4
Project Financing

Clean energy project financing rises to $1 trillion per year.

Updated April 2024
On Track

Clean energy financing is at an all-time high, hitting $743 billion

Source: BloombergNEF, 2024

10.5
Philanthropy

Philanthropic dollars for tackling emissions grow to $30 billion per year.

Updated April 2024
Insufficient Progress

Less than 2% (between $8 billion and $13 billion) of philanthropic giving is dedicated to climate change mitigation

Welcome to Zeroing In by Speed & Scale, where we cut through the noise to deliver a data-driven update on progress toward net zero.

CHINA’S BOLD MOVES TOWARD THE TRANSITION: China’s massive rollout of renewable energy is fast accelerating. Its investments in the sector have expanded to the point that experts now expect the country’s greenhouse gas emissions to peak years earlier than anticipated. In 2023 alone, according to new government data, China installed 217 gigawatts of solar power, a 55 percent increase over the last year. That translates to more than 500 million solar panels, far greater than the total installed solar capacity in the U.S. For the first time, China’s total additions in zero-emission power capacity, including hydropower and nuclear, were enough to cover the entire increase in domestic electricity demand.

Dive deeper into Speed & Scale

OKRs in the News

🚗 1.0 – Electrify Transportation

  • Sustainable Aviation Fund: United Airlines announced new corporate partners—including Google—to its investment fund focused on sustainable aviation fuels. Committed capital exceeds $200 million (ESG Today).

  • No Apple EV: Apple ends its quest to build its own EV, adding an explanation that it’s shifting resources to artificial intelligence research (The Wall Street Journal).

  • …But a Chinese Smartphone Builder Leaps Into the Market: Less than three years after establishing its own automotive arm to develop and build EVs, Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi announces plans to bring its electric car to market (Electrek).

  • Biden Calls Chinese EVs a National Security Threat: President Biden ordered the Commerce Department to open an investigation into security threats around Chinese cars and trucks in the U.S. auto market, citing a concern that the vehicles’ operating systems could relay sensitive information to Beijing (The New York Times).

  • Electrified Trucking Projections: A new report by Energy Innovation projects that fast-falling battery prices for EVs could transform long-haul trucking. According to the updated forecast, electric versions with batteries will cost less upfront for all five major vehicle types, including long-haul tractor trucks, by 2030 (Energy Innovation).

💡 2.0 – Decarbonize the Grid

  • Reconductoring: Grid operators have introduced a new method to carry more power without building more infrastructure. The innovation will string higher-quality wires along existing poles and towers. This simple solution may play a big role in building up U.S. capacity without the need for costly permitting that often slows new construction (Clean Technica).

  • Need for Speed: According to the latest data, oil and gas plants will need to be retired five times faster over the next twelve years to meet long-term climate targets globally, meaning that an average of 64 gigawatts (GW) of oil- and gas-fired capacity should come offline each year until 2035 (Global Energy Monitor).

  • Revitalizing Uranium Mines: Across the U.S. and allied countries, owners of left-for-dead uranium mines are restarting operations to capitalize on rising demand for nuclear fuel (Yahoo Finance).

  • Frackers Drilling for Clean Power: Oil and gas companies are accelerating investments in geothermal energy. They’re betting that technologies that fueled the shale revolution can make geothermal a substantial producer of clean power. Chevron, BP, and Devon Energy are all getting in on the action. They’re using the same technology as frackers—but instead of hunting for oil and gas—they’re looking for underground heat (The Wall Street Journal).

🐄 3.0 – Fix Food

  • Have You Considered Chicken?: Replacing beef with a different protein, even for a single meal, can shrink the emissions footprint of a person’s daily diet by as much as half (Bloomberg).

🌳 4.0 – Protect Nature

  • Texas Wildfires Rage On: Texas wildfires have burnt more than a million acres, making them the largest in Texas history and one of the largest in U.S. history (The New York Times).

🧱 5.0 – Clean Up Industry

  • EU Targets Plastic Waste: The EU is targeting plastic and packaging waste during an era of takeout food, aiming to reduce waste from plastic packaging by 5 percent by 2030 and 15 percent by 2040. Empty space in packaging will be eliminated and takeout containers will be required to be made from partly reusable materials (Bloomberg).

  • Hot New Investment is Heat: BlackRock and Saudi Aramco join a group of financiers pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into startups making heat batteries. The idea is to electrify production in such emissions-heavy industries as cement and steel (The Wall Street Journal).

🧹 6.0 – Remove Carbon

  • New Plant in the Ocean: UCLA is building the world’s largest ocean-based carbon removal plant. The $20 million system will be capable of removing 3,650 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year while producing 105 metric tons of carbon-negative hydrogen (University of California, Los Angeles).      

  • Need for Scale: Across the vast realm of carbon credit purchases, removal projects continue to account for but a tiny fraction. There is not nearly enough carbon removal and storage capacity to meet present needs, much less future demand. To align with the Paris Agreement, removal needs to be scaled thirty-fold (University of Oxford).    

🏛️ 7.0 – Win Politics and Policy

  • Biden’s State of the Union on Climate Crisis: President Biden spoke about climate change in stark terms during the State of the Union address, calling it the “climate crisis.” He linked tackling climate change to economic benefits and job gains and pointed to the Inflation Reduction Act’s impact (The New York Times).

  • Biden’s Climate Progress Report: An analysis of the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act so far finds that electric vehicles are booming as expected, but renewable power isn’t growing as quickly as hoped (Clean Investment Monitor).

  • SEC Weakens Disclosure Rule: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has removed a requirement for corporations to disclose their Scope 3 emissions (Reuters).

  • Climate and the 2024 Elections: Economist Impact sets the record straight—democracy is good for climate action. 22 of the 25 countries with legally binding net-zero targets are democracies, while the majority of those without targets are autocracies. Prompted by the clean energy revolution, climate is an important issue on the ballot in many democratic countries this year (Economist Impact).

  • NBER’s Climate Policy Reform Advice: A nonprofit research organization concluded a critical report on our climate progress so far. The bottom line is that we’re on track to hit our target five years too late, and that the only way to get on track would be a price on carbon (National Bureau of Economic Research).

OKR Highlight

OKR Highlight: 7.0 Win Politics and Policy


It’s been a year and a half since the Inflation Reduction Act became law, and over two years since the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was enacted. Since then, significant strides have been made in tracking the impact of these policies. The Clean Investment Monitor (CIM), introduced in September 2023, tracks both public and private investments in the clean technologies incentivized by these bills. Notably, CIM predicts that if both policies were to be implemented in full, they could slash emissions by an estimated 37 to 42 percent by 2030 (relative to 2005 levels).

🏃 8.0 – Turn Movements into Action

  • Exxon CEO Blames Public: Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods told Fortune that the world has “waited too long” to begin investing in a fight against climate change. He failed to acknowledge the role of fossil fuels in causing climate change to begin with (The Hill).

9.0 – Innovate

  • New Eye in the Sky: The satellite MethaneSAT is now sweeping the globe with a high-resolution infrared sensor to detect and track methane leaks from oil and gas sites worldwide. You can follow MethaneSAT’s progress on their website (The New York Times).

  • Climate-Resistant Kelp: Google is working with Australian scientists to use artificial intelligence to locate remnant giant kelp forests and identify genetic traits that can help kelp survive a warming ocean (Bloomberg).

💰 10.0 – Invest

  • Clean Tech Cashes Up: Investments in fledgling clean technologies such as carbon capture and hydrogen rose tenfold in 2023. Fueled by President Biden’s signature climate law, investments in clean technology and transportation overall surged to $239 billion, up 38 percent over 2022 (Bloomberg).

  • ESG Investing, Sans Acronym: The world’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock, has abandoned the “ESG” acronym while pumping billions of dollars into clean energy, calling it “transition investing” (The Wall Street Journal).

  • Small Decline in Climate Capital: In Q1 of 2024, venture capital firms have raised $3.2 billion across 18 climate funds, down approximately 20 percent from the same period last year (Axios).

  • CA100+ Loses Members: U.S. fund giants JPMorgan Asset Management, State Street Global Advisors, and Pacific Investment Management Co. withdrew from Climate Action 100+, the world’s largest investor coalition on climate change (Bloomberg).

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