Source: The Conversation â UK â By James Dyke, Senior Lecturer in Global Systems, University of Exeter
This episode of The Conversationâs In Depth Out Loud podcast features prominent academics, including a former IPCC chair, rounding on governments worldwide for using the concept of net zero emissions to âgreenwashâ their lack of commitment to solving global warming.
You can read the text version of this in-depth article here. The audio version is read by Les Smith in partnership with Noa, News Over Audio. You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, for free, on the Noa app.
James Dyke, Senior Lecturer in Global Systems at the University of Exeter, Robert Watson, Emeritus Professor in Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia and Wolfgang Knorr, Senior Research Scientist in Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science at Lund University, write about the obvious dangers of the concept of net zero.
In defence of net zero
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Concerns about the efficacy of net zero targets are justified, but could condemnation of the concept from Greta Thunberg and others inadvertently serve to undermine efforts to decarbonise? The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect one
Carl von Clausewitz, 1780-1831
The backlash is underway. And it s coming from the unlikeliest of quarters.
For much of the past two years the global push to deliver net zero emissions has enjoyed a remarkable golden run. National and state governments have rushed to announce long term net zero emissions goals, to the point where around two thirds of global GDP is now covered by some form of target. Businesses and investors have followed suit, with over 2,100 of the world s largest corporates having set net zero goals under the UN-backed Race to Zero campaign while asset managers and owners worth trillions of dollars have pledged to deliver net zero emission portfolios by mid-century at the latest.
Following recent criticism of net zero targets, the UN-backed campaign tightens its standards and notes that 'the concept of net zero is complex and the science and best practices are developing fast'
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 outlawed racial discrimination in housing. However, cities and counties throughout Virginia "are more racially segregated today than they were 50 years ago," the report