Climate scientists say net zero is a dangerous trap. What does net zero mean? How to get it right? Hopefully around the middle of this century we will achieve “net zero”. This is the point at which any residual emissions of greenhouse gases are balanced by technologies removing them from the atmosphere. The catch is in balancing the residual emissions with (yet unproven) technologies. Some countries and heavy Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emitting companies put all their eggs in the technology basket, while pushing deep GHG emission cuts into the future. This is how to get net zero strategies right (with credits to Frankhauser et all 2022):
1 Does the strategy enable or encourage the need for front-loaded emission reductions?
2 Does the strategy enable or encourage the need for comprehensive emission reductions?
3 Does the strategy enable or encourage the cautious use of carbon dioxide removal?
4 Does the strategy enable or encourage effective regulation of carbon offsets?
5 Does the strategy enable or encourage equitable transition to net zero?
6 Does the strategy enable or encourage socio-ecological sustainability?
Are you curious how to get this done? Read this easy to access article.