Net-Zero Emissions

Net-zero greenhouse gas emissions means that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by human-caused removals from the atmosphere over a specified period. It does not require every activity to emit nothing: some residual emissions may remain, but an equivalent amount must be removed. Because different gases have different warming effects, their emissions and removals are compared using a common metric, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

What is being balanced?

The balance concerns anthropogenic emissions and removals, meaning those resulting from human activities. A credible target must specify which gases it covers, its geographical or organisational boundary, its accounting method and its target date.

• Net-zero CO2 emissions balances carbon dioxide emissions against carbon dioxide removals; net-zero greenhouse gas emissions also accounts for gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases.
• Gross emissions are the emissions released before subtracting removals; reaching net zero therefore does not necessarily mean that gross emissions are zero.
• Avoiding a future emission is not the same as removing greenhouse gases already present in the atmosphere.

How net zero is achieved

The central strategy is deep emissions reduction, with removals used to counterbalance residual emissions that are difficult to eliminate. Removals supplement emissions cuts rather than replace them.

• Emissions can be reduced through low-emission energy, energy efficiency, electrification, changes in industrial processes and reductions in methane emissions.
• Carbon dioxide removal includes human activities such as afforestation and direct air capture with durable storage.
• Capturing fossil-fuel CO2 at an industrial source can reduce emissions, but it is not itself atmospheric carbon dioxide removal.
• Removal claims require reliable measurement and attention to permanence: carbon stored in forests, for example, can be released again through fire or clearing.

Why it matters in climate policy

CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere, so limiting human-caused warming requires reaching net-zero CO2 emissions, alongside strong reductions in other greenhouse gases. A distant net-zero target therefore needs near-term action and a credible emissions pathway.

• India's net-zero target is 2070, as reflected in its Long-Term Low-Carbon Development Strategy submitted in 2022.
• Net zero is a mitigation objective; it does not remove the need for adaptation to climate impacts.
• Equity matters because countries differ in historical emissions, development needs and their capacity to finance the transition.