A shift in direction in the SBTi standard for corporate climate targets offers a small spark of hope
- katariinakoivula
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
International organizations are taking small steps in the right direction. The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which guides companies’ emissions targets and standards, published a revised draft of the corporate climate targets standard on November 6. Organizations behind SBTi include, among others, the UN Global Compact initiative and WWF.
SBTi is changing its stance on offsetting and carbon removal. According to the latest version of SBTi’s Net-Zero Standard, a company could, in the future, attain Recognized or Leadership status by financing and delivering supplementary emissions mitigation outcomes. The signal to the market is strong: financial flows must be directed not only toward emissions reductions, but also toward offsetting solutions.
The threshold for Recognized status has been set low so that it is easy to achieve across all sectors. Meeting the minimum threshold for the status requires a company to offset 1% of its Scope 1–3 emissions over the target period. (CNZS V2 Second Consultation Draft)
Earning the Leadership status recognition involves two requirements: minimum financing and minimum offsetting. Minimum financing is determined by assigning a price to a company’s emissions. This emissions price corresponds to 100% of the company’s ongoing emissions, calculated as if they were produced by burning coal. The minimum mitigation outcome required is 40% of the company’s ongoing emissions. If the minimum financing is not sufficient to achieve the required mitigation outcomes, additional funding must be directed toward climate actions. In its draft, SBTi has stated that the program will become mandatory for large companies starting in 2035. (CNZS V2 Second Consultation Draft)
The shift in direction acknowledges what climate science has been stating openly for a long time. While emissions reductions are essential, they are not sufficient on their own.
An article in The Economist notes that after overshooting the 1.5-degree threshold, attention is shifting to how to turn the “thermostat” back down. Every 0.1-degree decrease requires the removal of 220 billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere. At present, the world captures only 2 billion tons of carbon per year. (The Economist)
In climate change mitigation, the greatest potential does not rest on a single solution but on a broad portfolio of measures across different sectors. The largest individual opportunities for emissions reductions can be found, among others, in the energy sector— especially through the rapid expansion of solar and wind power. Nature-based solutions play an equally significant role. Reducing deforestation, restoring ecosystems, enhancing carbon sequestration in agriculture, and sustainable forest management together form a whole with enormous potential for climate change mitigation efforts. (The 2025 state of the climate report: a planet on the brink, page 9.)
Attention must now be paid to timing and scale. Although the new approach offers the possibility of attaining a status, it remains a voluntary add-on. The use of fossil fuels and the associated greenhouse gas emissions reached a record level in 2024, even as the use of renewable energy increased (Phys org). More actions are needed more and sooner.
The chart used in The Economist illustrates the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions and how far current trends are from the targets set out in the Paris Agreement. The graph shows global greenhouse gas emissions from 2015 onward, highlighting how emissions have remained high and begun to rise again after 2020. The red area represents the trajectory if countries continue with their current policy pathways.
The world is currently nowhere near a 1.5-degree — or even a 2-degree —emissions pathway. Existing policy measures, and even fully implemented national climate pledges, leave a growing emissions gap. The further into the 2030s we proceed without additional action, the more costly mitigation efforts will be required later.
Carbon removal will play an increasingly important role, and it offers new solutions for corporate climate strategies. SBTi’s new draft of the corporate climate targets standard represents a modest step forward toward companies’ net-zero goals. What is defined today as voluntary leadership in climate action must become tomorrow’s baseline.
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