PAS 2060 carbon neutrality

Courtesy: pas 2060 carbon neutrality

Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the “post-carbon economy”).The term is used in the context of carbon dioxide-releasing processes associated with transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industry.

Although the term “carbon neutral” is used, a carbon footprint also includes other greenhouse gases, measured in terms of their carbon dioxide equivalence. The term climate-neutral reflects the broader inclusiveness of other greenhouse gases in climate change, even if CO₂ is the most abundant.

The term “net zero” is increasingly used to describe a broader and more comprehensive commitment to decarbonization and climate action, moving beyond carbon neutrality by including more activities under the scope of indirect emissions, and often including a science-based target on emissions reduction, as opposed to relying solely on offsetting. Some climate scientists have stated that “the idea of net zero has licensed a recklessly cavalier ‘burn now, pay later’ approach which has seen carbon emissions continue to soar.”

History

Plenary session of the COP21 adopting the Paris Agreement in 2015

In 2006, the New Oxford American Dictionary made the term carbon-neutral word of the year.

In December 2020, five years after the Paris Agreement, the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres warned that the commitments made by countries in Paris were not sufficient and were not respected. He has urged all other countries to declare climate emergencies until carbon neutrality is reached.

Method

Carbon-neutral status can be achieved in two ways, although a combination of the two is most likely required:

Carbon offsetting

Balancing carbon dioxide emissions with carbon offsets the process of reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions or removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to make up for emissions elsewhere. If the total greenhouse gases emitted is equal to the total amount avoided or removed, then the two effects cancel each other out and the net emissions are ‘neutral’.

Reducing emissions

Reducing carbon emissions can be done by moving towards energy sources and industry processes that produce less greenhouse gases, thereby transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Shifting towards the use of renewable energy such as wind, geothermal, and solar power, zero-energy systems like passive daytime radiative cooling, as well as nuclear power, reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Although both renewable and non-renewable energy production produce carbon emissions in some form, renewable sources produce negligible to almost zero carbon emissions. Transitioning to a low-carbon economy would also mean making changes to current industrial and agricultural processes to reduce carbon emissions, for example, diet changes to livestock such as cattle can potentially reduce methane production by 40%. Carbon projects and emissions trading are often used to reduce carbon emissions, and carbon dioxide can even sometimes be prevented from entering the atmosphere entirely (such as by carbon scrubbing).

One way to implement carbon-neutral products is by making these products cheaper and more cost effective than carbon positive fuels. Various companies have pledged to become carbon neutral or negative by 2050, some of which include: Microsoft, Delta Air Lines, BP, IKEA, and BlackRock. However, without cheaper carbon-neutral products, companies are less likely to switch over to renewable sources.