collaboration.
Net-zero. Those two words have become the near-universal language for policymakers intent on sealing a deal at the UN climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland in November. But are they the key to fulfilling the promises to hold warming to 1.5 C made at a similar climate summit in Paris six years ago, or, as some scientists and activists are now saying, are they a dangerous delusion to which climate scientists have become complicit?
Achieving “net-zero” requires that any carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by absorbing an equivalent amount of CO2 from the atmosphere sometimes called negative emissions. More than 100 countries, including the biggest three emitters China, the United States, and the European Union have pledged to achieve net-zero targets in the coming decades. They are being applauded for finally getting a grip on climate change.