Leading researchers who have advised the United Nations, the White House, and international standard-setters have declared that the data underpinning corporate climate targets is fundamentally broken. In a peer-reviewed academic paper published in One Earth and backed by Cambridge spin-out Neutreeno, the scientists argue that current carbon accounting systems are ineffective at driving decarbonisation. The findings come amid heightened climate urgency, with more than 10,000 excess deaths recorded in a single European heatwave in June 2026 and Toronto experiencing the worst air quality of any city on Earth due to wildfire smoke.

The core issue lies in supply chain emissions, which account for more than three-quarters of a company’s total emissions. According to the study, data in this segment is highly unreliable, often relying on industry averages that can be off by tenfold. Dr. Spencer Brennan, lead author and founder of Neutreeno, compared this discrepancy to reporting $10 million in revenue when the actual figure is $100 million. He stated that such uncertainty is unacceptable in financial reporting and should be equally unacceptable for emissions data, where the stakes are higher.

Regulatory Context

The failure of accurate carbon accounting coincides with a retreat in government oversight. The European Union has eased emissions rules governing over 10,000 factories and power stations. Additionally, in February 2026, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reversed its finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, undermining the basis for regulation. With these regulatory backsteps, few companies are on track to meet their climate targets, and accountability mechanisms are weakening.

The CSA Principles

To address these gaps, the researchers introduced the CSA Principles, a framework designed to redefine high-quality emissions data. The principles require data to be:

• Credible: Backed by quality metrics indicating trustworthiness.
• Scalable: Capable of moving across entire supply chains.
• Actionable: Providing concrete methods to change product manufacturing.

The authors are calling on policymakers, regulators, investors, and businesses to adopt these principles before the window for effective action closes.

What the Numbers Show

The study highlights a critical divergence between compliance and actionability. While current data may satisfy regulatory boxes, its high uncertainty prevents companies from trusting it enough to implement meaningful changes. This suggests that existing corporate climate strategies are largely performative rather than operational, as the foundational data required for precise decarbonisation efforts remains unavailable.