NET ZERO EMISSIONS

NET ZERO EMISSIONS

Subject: Environment

Context: US President’s Climate Envoy is in India. One point of discussion could be the net-zero goal for 2050, which the US wants India to be on board on.

Concept:

Net-Zero Emissions

• ‘Net zero emissions’ refers to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere.
• First, human-caused emissions (like those from fossil-fueled vehicles and factories) should be reduced as close to zero as possible. Second, any remaining GHGs should be balanced with an equivalent amount of carbon removal, for example by restoring forests.

Time-Frame:

• The time frame for reaching net-zero emissions differs significantly if one is referring to CO2 alone, or referring to all major GHGs (including methane, nitrous oxide, and HFCs).
• For non-CO2 emissions, the net-zero date is later because some of these emissions — such as methane from agricultural sources — are somewhat more difficult to phase out.
• In scenarios that limit warming to 1.5 degrees C, carbon dioxide (CO2) reaches net-zero on average by 2050. Total GHG emissions reach net-zero between 2063 and 2068.

Global Scenario:

• As of June 2020, twenty countries and regions have adopted net-zero targets. This list only includes countries that adopted a net-zero target in law or another policy document.
• The Kingdom of Bhutan is already carbon-negative, i.e. absorbs more CO2 than it emits.

Indian Scenario:

• India’s per capita CO2 emissions – at 1.8 tonnes per person in 2015 – are around a ninth of those in the USA and around a third of the global average of 4.8 tonnes per person.
• However, overall, India is now the planet’s third-largest emitter of CO2, behind China and the USA.