Climate question: what does net zero mean?

class=”sc-29f61514-0 jbwksb”>

What exactly does “pure zero” mean? How many of them are just “zero” and what does “net” mean? And how do we ensure that we actually reach net zero?

The climate law is very clear. It defines net zero emissions as “maximizing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and offsetting the impact of remaining emissions through the use of negative emission technologies.” Negative emissions technologies are also clearly defined as “biological and technical processes to reduce CO emissions.₂ removed from the atmosphere and permanently stored in forests, soil, wood products, or other carbon sinks.” Thus, a net zero budget consists of two elements: a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a constant emission of CO with so-called “negative emissions”.₂ remove from the atmosphere.

However, priority must be given to reducing emissions. In scenarios that, according to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, can stabilize global warming at 1.5 °C (without significantly exceeding this value), the share of negative emissions is about 10 percent. Concretely, this means that we must cut our current greenhouse gas emissions by about 90 percent. In the case of “pure zero”, 90 percent are “zero” and 10 percent must be compensated.

But how do negative radiation technologies actually work? Swiss law requires that a remote CO₂ “forever” connected. This is not always the case with so-called natural shells. Take, for example, a forest. It can be burned or cut down. There are also problems with technology solutions, such as the need to take into account the whole life cycle assessment. This requires careful control mechanisms.

We see that achieving a balanced CO₂– Budgets will not be trivial. But you can also look at it positively: new perspectives are opening up for innovation and the economy: the Swiss are good at numbers and budgets: they were previously known for their skills in the financial sector, hopefully in the future also a reliable calculation of CO.₂– and greenhouse gas budgets!

Source: Blick