Azerbaijan 'yet to set net zero target' despite hosting this year's Cop29 talks

The host country of the next Cop29 UN climate talks, Azerbaijan, has yet to set a target for net zero greenhouse gas emissions, one of only 50 countries that have failed to do so, new research has shown.

- Fiona Harvey

Of the 198 countries surveyed by the Net Zero Tracker research initiative, three-quarters - 148 countries - now have targets to reach net zero emissions, up from 124 countries at the end of 2020.

There has also been a substantial increase in the number of companies, cities and regions setting net zero targets, though the report found that four in 10 such entities, even in large countries, do not have such targets. For instance Tesla, the electric vehicle company, claims to be making "meaningful progress on building a plan to achieve net zero emissions as soon as possible", but has not yet published it.