The impact of statutory net-zero targets on clean energy investment.

Xiao Yan Zhou, Min Ruan, Jing Yu, Sam Fankhauser, Gireesh Shrimali

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Xiao Yan ZhouThe Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.

Min RuanThe Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.

Jing YuBusiness School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Sam FankhauserThe Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.

Gireesh ShrimaliThe Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Setting national targets for reaching net zero is a key indicator of countries' commitment to climate action. But how effective are net-zero targets in driving down emissions? Here, we use a difference-in-differences model to study the link between statutory net-zero targets in 24 countries and clean energy investment from 2014 to 2023. We find that laws with target years of 2045 or earlier are associated with economically large and statistically significant increases in low-carbon investment, whereas laws targeting 2050 or later show no comparable average effect without frequent NZT reporting. Investment responses are stronger among firms with higher net-zero disclosure scores and in countries that report progress toward net-zero targets more frequently. These findings suggest that legislative ambition and transparency matter. Only credible and ambitious net-zero targets are able to mobilize private low-carbon investment.

Indexed as

capital expenditurecorporate net-zero transition disclosurelow-carbon energynational net-zero legislation

Identifiers

PMID42835646

DOI10.1016/j.isci.2026.117647

PMCPMC13635561

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.