A growing number of CEOs are confident in their companies’ ability to achieve net-zero corporate goals, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), according to a new report from global consulting and accounting firm KPMG.

In a survey of more than 1,300 CEOs worldwide, 61 percent of CEOs said they were on track to hit net zero targets by 2030, KPMG revealed in a report published on Tuesday. This represents a 10 percentage point increase from the 51 percent of CEOs who expressed confidence in meeting their climate goals last year.

“While attitudes towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) vary across regions, KPMG 2025 Outlook “The report indicates that most corporate leaders remain strongly committed to their sustainability goals and are increasingly confident in meeting them.”

KPMG said the increased confidence is due to companies reviewing and reevaluating their interim climate targets to be more realistic and aligned with core business strategy.

CEOs were also more bullish on achieving their net zero goals using the strategic application of AI. Top use cases include improving the quality of sustainability data and reporting (79 percent), identifying resource efficiency opportunities (78 percent), and directly reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency (78 percent).

The report did not say whether CEOs had considered the energy and water resources needed for data centers to run AI, which were a Topic of concern For environmental experts.

“I’m encouraged that despite the challenging macro circumstances, leaders remain strongly committed to ESG issues,” said John McCalla-Lacey, global head of ESG at KPMG International. “The leap in confidence around Net-Zero sends a positive signal and can help build momentum toward achieving collective decarbonization goals.”

However, the path to decarbonization is not without obstacles. Executives identified the top challenges as complexity of carbon saving supply chains (25 percent) and lack of skills and experience to successfully implement solutions (21 percent).

Comparatively, cost was seen as a lesser barrier to climate action, cited by only 11 percent of leaders.

The survey also found that two-thirds (65 per cent) claim to be fully embedded in their business, and consider it important for long-term success. However, incorporating sustainability into capital spending decisions is still a work in progress, with only 29 percent saying it is done comprehensively.

Business leaders have continued to prioritize community engagement, but in a more nuanced way, McCalla-Lacey said. The report found that 83 percent of executives believe there is a growing need for a balance between centralized and localized approaches when addressing the near- and long-term impacts of conflict, politics and climate change.

More broadly, AI has remained a top investment priority, with 69 percent of executives planning to allocate 10-20 percent of their budgets to new technology over the next 12 months, even though confidence in the global economy has fallen to its lowest level since 2001.

“Despite continuing economic pressures, 92 percent of leaders plan to increase The company said:

The top concerns about using AI were ethical challenges (59 percent), data redundancy (52 percent) and lack of regulation (50 percent).

Bill Thomas, Chairman and CEO of KPMG, said, “With what we are seeing, there is a delicate balance required between innovation and responsibility. CEO responses to AI exemplify that, as leaders recognize the need to embrace innovation while managing concerns about ethics, regulation, hiring and access to talent.”