Carbon-neutrality

Context

Independent charitable organisation Oxfam has said that ‘net zero’ carbon targets that many countries have announced may be a “dangerous distraction” from the priority of cutting carbon emissions.
Oxfam found that “Land-hungry ‘net zero’ schemes could force an 80 per cent rise in global food prices and more hunger while allowing rich nations and corporates to continue “dirty business-as-usual,”.

Which countries have recently announced net-zero targets?

In 2019, the New Zealand government passed the Zero Carbon Act, which committed the country to zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner, as part of the country’s attempts to meet its Paris climate accord commitments.
In the same year, the UK’s parliament passed legislation requiring the government to reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100 per cent relative to 1990 levels by the year 2050.
Recently, US announced that the country will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
The European Union through plan, called “Fit for 55”, has asked all of its 27 member countries to cut emissions by 55 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.
China also announced that it would become net-zero by the year 2060 and that it would not allow its emissions to peak beyond what they are in 2030.

What does net-zero mean?

Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero.
That would be gross-zero, which means reaching a state where there are no emissions at all, a scenario hard to comprehend.
Therefore, net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
One way by which carbon can be absorbed is by creating carbon sinks.
Bhutan has negative emissions, because it absorbs more than it emits.

What the report says?

The report says that if the challenge of change is tackled only by way of planting more trees, then about 6 billion hectares of new forests would be required to remove the world’s excess carbon emissions by the year 2050.
To limit the global warming below 1.5°C and to prevent irreversible damage from climate change, the world needs to cut emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 from 2010 levels.
Currently, countries’ plans to cut emissions will only lead to a one per cent reduction by the year 2030.
The report emphasises that reducing emissions cannot be considered a substitute for cutting emissions, “and these should be counted separately,”

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