What is the Race to Zero?

By Climate Champions | February 28, 2022

Race to Zero is a UN-backed global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth. It is the largest coalition of credible net-zero targets, reviewed by an independent Expert Peer Review Group which is aligned with the University of Oxford Net Zero Principles.

Led by the High-Level Champions, all members are committed to the same overarching goal: accelerate the delivery of climate action in line with halving global emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the very latest.

Who’s in the Race to Zero?

The campaign mobilizes a coalition of leading net zero initiatives, currently representing 52 regions, 1122 cities, 7552 companies, 1114 educational institutions, 555 financial institutions, over 3,000 hospitals from 63 healthcare institutions and 24 “other” institutions. For more information, please click here.

Our partners

Member growth since launch

Having built up substantial momentum in its first 18 months of existence, Race to Zero must now shift into a new phase in 2022. Race to Zero will emphasise new focuses in key areas to accelerate the delivery of climate action in line with halving global emissions by 2030.

Race to Zero has been the product of a wide collaboration of stakeholders, both from within the Climate Champions’ team and with external Partners. We must consolidate these relationships and develop new ones, with a focus on regional diversity, to take Race to Zero into this new phase.

Against this backdrop, Race to Zero will be guided by the following objectives for COP27:

Why should you join?

• Your climate action efforts will be officially recognised as credible and science-based, supported by the United Nations;
• You will join a community of members spanning regions and sectors, with whom you can share tools and knowledge to achieve your targets;
• You will have access to powerful communications material and the potential of participating in events year-round;
• You will be supported every step of the way.

You will not be alone — this is a Campaign which epitomises radical collaboration, and brings together already more than two thousand actors across the globe.

How you can join

As a member:

Race to Zero is an umbrella campaign that gathers a diverse set of partner initiatives. If you are an individual entity (business, city, university, region etc.), you are invited to join through an official Race to Zero partner. By joining one of the partners you will be directly included in Race to Zero.

As a Partner:

If you are an initiative or a coalition, you can join the Race as a Partner. You will thus facilitate the exponential growth of members into Race to Zero. To do so, you must:

1. Submit an application
2. Submit a list of your members

Addressed to the Expert Peer Review Group, at RaceToZero@unfccc.int.

Criteria:

The inclusion of a new member or partner is based on the accomplishment of the “Minimum Race to Zero Criteria”, which is updated every year to ensure the highest science-based standards.

The minimum criteria consists on the following four steps:

Find out more here.