'Net zero' has gone from a scientific concept to a demand of fringe activists, to a mainstream organising principle for mitigation in record time. After COP26, at least 90% of the global economy is covered by some kind of net zero pledge. But having reached the “end of the beginning” of net zero—a near-universal commitment to the destination climate science says we need to arrive at by the middle of the century—a more difficult phase emerges.

This document outlines what the next steps for an effective net zero governance system could look like.