What is Net Zero?

As we’re now fully aware, one of the big reasons global temperatures are steadily rising is because of greenhouse gas emissions. The cars we drive, the homes we heat and the food we eat – they all produce carbon which ends up in the earth’s atmosphere, creating a ‘blanket’ that traps polluting greenhouse gasses and stops heat from escaping.

Even an increase of a few degrees could have catastrophic consequences for humanity, causing a rise in sea levels, declining water supplies and widespread wildfires.

It’s widely believed that if we can achieve Net Zero carbon emissions – so the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere is equivalent to the amount we take out (also known as ‘offset’) – we stand a chance of slowing down its effects.

However, simply offsetting all our carbon emissions isn't enough. Many carbon offsetting schemes have sprung up in recent years, promising to compensate for emissions through tree planting programmes. This has become associated with ‘greenwashing’, allowing businesses to claim to be low carbon without materially reducing their emissions. True Net Zero is about reducing emissions to a minimum and balancing anything we do emit by removing carbon from the atmosphere using carbon sinks or carbon storage technology.

As the name suggests, carbon sinks absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Plants, trees, rivers, oceans, peatlands and green spaces are all carbon sinks, as they’re living things that need carbon dioxide to exist. It’s why the Amazon – the world’s largest rainforest – has been nicknamed the ‘planet’s lungs’.