Inclusive Net Zero
As part of the Oxford Net Zero (ONZ) initiative, InSIS is researching approaches to make net zero targets and plans more inclusive and equitable.
Since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the goal of achieving a global balance of greenhouse gas emissions and removals by mid-century has been adopted by a myriad state and non-state actors. The ensuing proliferation of ‘net zero’ commitments often fail to incorporate justice considerations in their targets and success metrics.
The Inclusive Net Zero component of ONZ focuses on how the concept of net zero and strategies to implement it can be best aligned with the delivery of sustainable development and climate justice, with a particular attention to the risks and benefits allocated to least developed countries and traditionally marginalized communities.
The work on inclusive net zero has three main components:
- Inclusivity in net zero at the international level, exploring how principles of fairness can be integrated into international frameworks for net zero, and their implications for countries in the Global South.
- Inclusivity in net zero within countries, both in the Global North and Global South, exploring how net zero policies and actions can be structured to not exacerbate domestic inequities and inequalities;
- Inclusivity for future generations to achieve intergenerational equity, which will work towards understanding the role of future generations in reaching net zero, and pathways and frameworks for equitable intergenerational burden and benefit sharing.
Our work in this area is led by the ONZ Inclusive Net Zero Research Fellow Jessica Omukuti under the supervision of ONZ co-Investigators Javier Lezaun and Radhika Khosla.
