What exactly is "net zero"?

Since the Industrial Revolution, human activities have seriously threatened the global existence and development. According to the 2021 Climate Change Report: The Physical Science Basis published by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global average temperature has increased by 1.1°C since the mid-1800s. This has resulted in various natural disasters, including melting glaciers, heatwaves, heavy rainfall and flooding, and even more extreme weather.

The key to addressing climate change lies in controlling carbon emissions, and the only way to do this is to reach peak carbon emissions and then achieve carbon neutrality. 

Many countries and companies worldwide have also started to set "net-zero" targets to address climate change. Net zero, a balance between greenhouse gas removal and emissions, results in a net total emissions of zero. Achieving net-zero emissions is a challenging task.

What Is Net Zero? 

Climate change has a new slogan, with pop artists from British Airways to Facebook and pop artists like Massive Attack committing to make changes in greenhouse gas emissions to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions. They are also part of a club with members from over 50 countries and regions around the world. This race to zero is a significant step in the fight against climate change. But what does net zero really mean, and is it truly feasible?

. British Airways is offsetting greenhouse gas emissions by investing in a range of global carbon reduction projects to make flying greener and more fuel-efficient. The photo shows British Airways operating a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Source: Network

In September 2020, Facebook announced a new "climate information center" and committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. Source: Bing

The goal of achieving net-zero emissions has spread. But, like all simple slogans, implementing it in reality is very complex. Humans burn fossil fuels, increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and causing the planet to warm. To stop global warming, greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere must stop rising, and the most obvious thing to do is to stop emitting them. But that's easier said than done.

For some industries, such as aviation, manufacturing, etc., it is very difficult to eliminate emissions. In the years leading up to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Conference, scientists realized that it was nearly impossible to quickly and drastically reduce emissions to meet the desired temperature targets set by policymakers.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Copenhagen from December 7 to December 18, 2009, signed a new agreement on global action to address climate change, which was epochal. The image shows the logo and visual application of the World Climate Conference in Copenhagen. Source: Network

What we can do is actively remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. There is an increasing debate about a world where greenhouse gas emissions and removals are balanced, meaning the overall impact of greenhouse gas emissions is zero.Countries that have signed the Paris Agreement commit to balancing greenhouse gas emissions and removals in the latter half of this century, turning net-zero emissions into reality.

The Paris Climate Agreement is a climate change agreement signed in New York, USA, by 195 countries at the Paris Climate Change Conference on April 22, 2016, to coordinate global action on climate change after 2020. The goal is to limit the average global temperature rise to 2°C in the 21st century and to go beyond 1.5°C compared to pre metropolis. Source: Network

Several methods for removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere have been used on a large scale, such as afforestation and land reclamation, to store more carbon. But there are also emerging technologies in the early stages of development, including ways to capture carbon dioxide and store it underground. Carbon dioxide can be directly extracted from the air using machinery, or it can be burned to generate electricity by planting trees and then captured during the process.

Iceland's Carbfix technology offers a safe, long-term, and cost-effective alternative to traditional carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions by mimicking and accelerating the natural storage of CO2 by rapidly converting pumped CO2 into solid carbonate minerals deep underground. Source: Carbfix

There have been a series of innovations in carbon emissions technology. But none of these technologies, from ambitious to bizarre, have been demonstrated on a large scale, which is why they remain widely speculative. The world is relying on innovation to meet the goals humanity has set for itself, but these innovations have not yet been confirmed on a large scale. That's a big question mark. We hope, but it's still a risky bet.

How much greenhouse gas needs to be removed from the atmosphere will depend on the reducible emissions. One of the biggest challenges is that many countries, businesses, and individuals are skeptical about carbon emission certification standards.

Many carbon-intensive countries like China, India, or other emerging markets indicate that they produce goods that can be consumed by Americans or Europeans, and consumers have to bear the negative emissions. Some voices also point out that developed countries have become wealthy by emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and now emerging markets also need to achieve shared prosperity for everyone, and the world is a community and should pay for negative emissions.

Carbon footprint, greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, emitted from certain items (such as a person's activities or production and transportation of products) over a specific period. Paper, electricity, transportation, waste... These bits and pieces are related to carbon emissions. Source: Network

Until now, there is no consistent policy for calculating and aggregating carbon emissions.

Today, government commitments to zero emissions cover more than two-thirds of the global economy. The United States and the European Union are striving for the goal of zero net emissions by 2050. In a significant address to China, one of the world's top carbon emitters, President Xi Jinping announced China's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

The EU's Green Deal sets out detailed plans for the transition to a green economic model, promising to make Europe the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To achieve this, 27 EU member countries have committed to reducing CO2 emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Source: European Commission

Some view ambitious climate goals as excellent and believe that the issue is being addressed. But this is also an issue because the goals do not guarantee that we will achieve them. Of course, the goals are essential, and they connect the world. They provide a clear direction for policy development. They give investors and markets some ideas and a level of certainty when investing. Even when we often don't reach our goals, we should remember them.

Most government policies focus on reducing emissions rather than achieving negative emissions.

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS): refers to the process of separating CO2 from industrial processes, energy use, or the atmosphere, using it directly, or pumping it into formation processes to achieve permanent CO2 emission reduction. The "China CCUS Annual Capture, Use, and Storage of Carbon Dioxide (CCUS) Technology Pathway Study" (2021) revealed that in terms of emission reduction goals, with the development of current technology, by 2050 and 2060, the emission reduction targets to be achieved through CCUS technology would be 6 ~ 1.4 billion tons and 10 ~ 1.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide, respectively. The image shows a diagram of CCUS technology and its main types. Source: Network

Grasping, developing, and expanding negative emission programs to achieve net-zero emissions is a challenging task. This is more challenging than landing on the moon or other programs often compared because it involves almost every economy, every government, and ultimately, even every citizen on the planet participating and changing how we live. This is not just a technological revolution but a revolution in thinking.