UN experts urge stringent rules to stop net zero greenwash

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Oil companies pledging to get their emissions down to net zero better make sure they've got a credible plan and aren't just making false promises, U.N. experts said in a report Tuesday urging tough standards on emissions cutting vows.  

Released at the the U.N.’s flagship climate conference in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the group of experts set out a number of strict recommendations for businesses, banks, and local governments making net zero pledges to ensure that their promises amount to meaningful action instead of “bogus” assurances.  

They called it a roadmap to prevent net zero from being “undermined by false claims, ambiguity and "greenwash.”  

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed the group exactly a year ago at last year’s U.N. climate summit to draw up principles and recommendations aimed at clarifying the confusion around the growing number of net zero claims made by businesses and organizations. But there’s been little transparency or uniform standards when it comes to net zero pledges, resulting in a boom in the number of hard to verify claims, the U.N. experts and environmental groups say.