The Oxford Martin Programme on Net Zero Regulation and Policy has launched its Climate Policy Monitor, a regularly updated public resource evaluating the ambition, comprehensiveness, and stringency of climate-related regulations against over 250 data points.

As countries meet at COP29 in Baku, the Climate Policy Monitor provides the most detailed view yet of how key economic rules are aligning – or not – to climate goals.

For example, a new law in the EU requires companies to create plans that lay out how they will transition to net zero. In Brazil, incoming rules require listed companies and financial institutions to report publicly not only their emissions, but also the risks they face from climate change. Similar rules exist in California, China, and Turkey. And in the UK, companies seeking to sell the government goods and services worth more than £5m must have a net zero plan.

The Monitor, developed through pro-bono partnerships with 48 leading law firms around the world, comes at a critical moment as the world confronts a persistent “implementation gap” between climate targets and results. While countries, companies, and other actors continue to set net zero targets – including a 23 percent rise in company net zero targets over the last year – global emissions also continue to rise. As countries look to submit new pledges under the Paris Agreement next year, it is vital they underpin top-level targets with concrete regulations and policies to ensure implementation.

At the same time, a second Trump Administration has promised to roll back climate policies in the US, meaning companies may face a fragmented regulatory landscape, and that policies and regulations introduced at state level and by the rest of the world are all the more vital for achieving net zero globally.

'Nations and companies have made ambitious pledges, but pledges alone won’t prevent catastrophic climate change,' said co-lead for the new survey Thomas Hale, Professor of Global Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and Director of the Net Zero Regulation and Policy programme.

'We need legally enforced rules – imposed by governments on themselves and on companies operating in their jurisdictions. The good news is there’s been huge recent growth in such rules. Next we need to close gaps.'

'To close gaps in climate policy, we need to be able to see and understand them,' added co-lead Thom Wetzer, Associate Professor of Law and Finance at Oxford’s Faculty of Law and Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. “Our open-access Climate Policy Monitor will allow everyone to evaluate the ambition, comprehensiveness and stringency of climate regulations as they evolve over time.”

The Climate Policy Monitor evaluates national regulations in three key domains:

Climate-related disclosure: Obligations on companies and financial institutions to publicly report information on the risks presented by climate change, their contributions to the problem, and/or the policies they have in place

Transition planning: Rules that require companies to lay out steps they will take to align with climate goals

Public procurement: Rules that align government spending – which typically accounts for 10–15% of a country’s GDP and includes everything from vehicles to new hospitals – with governments’ climate goals.

Nations and companies have made ambitious pledges, but pledges alone won’t prevent catastrophic climate change

At COP29, the Monitor’s findings support the work of the UN Taskforce on Net Zero Policy (launched at COP28), which is issuing a major report in Baku to advance efforts to align policy tools to climate goals.

Catherine McKenna, former Canadian Environment Minister and head of the UN Secretary-General’s net zero integrity taskforce, said: 'Voluntary efforts are important but only get us so far. By weaving net zero into the rules that shape the economy, policymakers can level the playing field and drive not just pledges but big cuts in emissions.'

The Climate Policy Monitor finds growing regulatory activity across the major economies, but also continuing gaps.

–In disclosure, 17 jurisdictions mandate companies to disclose emissions across their entire value chains (so called ‘Scope 3' emissions). As well, 17 jurisdictions – including China, Japan, Turkey, Australia, and the US – regulate companies’ global footprints, imposing regulatory requirements on suppliers around the world.

–Rules that require companies to lay out their transition planning (the steps they will take to meet their climate pledges) are increasingly being used to counteract ‘greenwashing’ (making pledges without saying how they will be achieved). However, many of these rules remain soft. Only 20% of regulations require companies to actually implement their plans.

–While there has been a big uptick in requirements to align government procurement spending with climate goals – with new rules coming into play since 2023 now covering a collective procurement spend across 17 jurisdictions of USD $9.7 trillion – a lack of clear standards on how to operationalise these requirements means the effectiveness of these rules remains in question.

The Monitor’s rich, open-access data show specific areas where regulators can strengthen and align economic rules to create a level playing field and enabling environment for achieving net zero. The Monitor will be expanded to further domains and jurisdictions next year.