WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SET A NET ZERO ALIGNED TARGET?
SCOPE
The scope of net zero refers not only to which greenhouse gases are included, but also which activities are covered.
Generally, net zero refers to all greenhouse gases, that is, all gases coveredunder the Kyoto Protocol, unless the definition refers to a specific gas (e.g. net zero carbon).
In terms of activity coverage, most national and sub-national actors have a standardised approach to scoping net zero. This follows the IPCC’sguidelinesfor calculating national greenhouse gas inventories, bounded geographically (emissions that occur within a given territory).
Within the private sector there are differences, but generally emissions are bounded following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s ‘scoped’ approach, and net zero aligned actors should attempt to cover all three scopes. Thethree scopescover:
● Scope 1– direct company owned or controlled emissions occurring at source
● Scope 2– emissions associated with the production of energy consumed by a company
● Scope 3– indirect emissions associated with company activities from sources not owned or controlled by a company.
TIMING
There are differing views about ambition in terms of timing for achieving net zero. However, there is strong international agreement across the climate community and convenors of the Race to Zero campaign that net zero targets should:
● Reach net zero by 2050
● Set interim targets
● Act immediately
OFFSETTING
A carbon offsetbroadly refers to a reduction in GHG emissions – or an increase in carbon storage (e.g., through land restoration or the planting of trees) – that is used to compensate for emissions that occur elsewhere.
While there is disagreement about the widespread use of offsetting there is strong international agreement across the climate community that any offsetting to achieve net requires:
● Robust standards (e.g. additionality, permanence, verifiability, etc.)
● Specification of offsetting approach, avoided emissions, reductions, or removals.
The Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned offsetting also require offsetting strategies to:
● Shift from carbon reduction to carbon removal.
● Shift from carbon removal with high-risk (shorter-term) storage, to carbon removal with low-risk (longer-term) storage.
●Support the development of net zero-aligned offsetting.
EQUITY
Many equity considerations are involved in setting a target to align with the global goal of achieving net zero. There is variation in agreement on how to operationalise differentiation around equity considerations, but there tends to be wide agreement in the international climate community that:
●All should move to net zero, but scope and timing may differ due to capacity, responsibility, and other factors.
GOVERNANCE
There are key governance considerations for setting net zero strategies. While actor-specific best practices may vary, it is of wide agreement in the climate community that strong governance towards net zero targets will include:
●Formal, top-level commitment
● Interim targets
● Transparency through regular reporting and tracking
● Clear action plans with specific operational implications
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SET A NET ZERO ALIGNED TARGET?
SCOPE
The scope of net zero refers not only to which greenhouse gases are included, but also which activities are covered.
Generally, net zero refers to all greenhouse gases, that is, all gases coveredunder the Kyoto Protocol, unless the definition refers to a specific gas (e.g. net zero carbon).
In terms of activity coverage, most national and sub-national actors have a standardised approach to scoping net zero. This follows the IPCC’sguidelinesfor calculating national greenhouse gas inventories, bounded geographically (emissions that occur within a given territory).
Within the private sector there are differences, but generally emissions are bounded following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s ‘scoped’ approach, and net zero aligned actors should attempt to cover all three scopes. Thethree scopescover:
● Scope 1– direct company owned or controlled emissions occurring at source
● Scope 2– emissions associated with the production of energy consumed by a company
● Scope 3– indirect emissions associated with company activities from sources not owned or controlled by a company.
TIMING
There are differing views about ambition in terms of timing for achieving net zero. However, there is strong international agreement across the climate community and convenors of the Race to Zero campaign that net zero targets should:
● Reach net zero by 2050
● Set interim targets
● Act immediately
OFFSETTING
A carbon offsetbroadly refers to a reduction in GHG emissions – or an increase in carbon storage (e.g., through land restoration or the planting of trees) – that is used to compensate for emissions that occur elsewhere.
While there is disagreement about the widespread use of offsetting there is strong international agreement across the climate community that any offsetting to achieve net requires:
● Robust standards (e.g. additionality, permanence, verifiability, etc.)
● Specification of offsetting approach, avoided emissions, reductions, or removals.
The Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned offsetting also require offsetting strategies to:
● Shift from carbon reduction to carbon removal.
● Shift from carbon removal with high-risk (shorter-term) storage, to carbon removal with low-risk (longer-term) storage.
●Support the development of net zero-aligned offsetting.
EQUITY
Many equity considerations are involved in setting a target to align with the global goal of achieving net zero. There is variation in agreement on how to operationalise differentiation around equity considerations, but there tends to be wide agreement in the international climate community that:
●All should move to net zero, but scope and timing may differ due to capacity, responsibility, and other factors.
GOVERNANCE
There are key governance considerations for setting net zero strategies. While actor-specific best practices may vary, it is of wide agreement in the climate community that strong governance towards net zero targets will include:
●Formal, top-level commitment
● Interim targets
● Transparency through regular reporting and tracking
● Clear action plans with specific operational implications
Why do we need net zero?
We need to reach net zero emissions in order to achieve the ambition of the Paris Agreement. It states we must hold global average temperature increase to “well below 2°C above pre industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C”. The IPCC’s Special Report Global Warming of 1.5°C makes it clear that it is necessary to achieve a global balance between emissions and removals by 2050 in order to cap the rise in global temperatures below 1.5°C.
While the Paris Agreement sets a global objective, action to achieve that objective is driven at the national level. Each country is responsible for setting their own policies to achieve the common goal. The delivery of these policies will take place at the local level. All countries, cities and businesses need to develop plans as to how they intend to achieve net zero.
While there may be different approaches to achieving net zero, it is important that such plans follow a common set of principles.
What are the attributes for successful net zero?
The concept of net-zero carbon emissions has emerged from physical climate science. However, it is operationalized through social, political and economic systems. We identify seven attributes of net zero, which are important to make it a successful framework for climate action, using our recent paper in Nature Climate Change.
The seven attributes highlight the urgency of emission reductions, which need to be front-loaded, and of coverage of all emission sources, including currently difficult ones. The attributes emphasize the need for social and environmental integrity. This means carbon dioxide removals should be used cautiously and the use of carbon offsets should be regulated effectively. Net zero must be aligned with broader sustainable development objectives, which implies an equitable net-zero transition, socio-ecological sustainability and the pursuit of broad economic opportunities.
The 7 attributes
Front-loaded emission reductions
A comprehensive approach to emission reductions
Cautious use of carbon dioxide removal and storage
Effective regulation of carbon offsets
An equitable transition to net zero
Alignment with broader socio-ecological objectives
Pursuit of new economic opportunities
What is durable net zero?
Anthropogenic carbon flows can be mapped by considering the global spheres (lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere). Currently, carbon flows between these are imbalanced. The Paris Agreementmarked the beginning of a shift towards net zero emissions, aimed at capping the rise in global temperatures below 1.5°C. Reaching net zero is characterised by the balancing of carbon flows into and out of the atmosphere, through the reduction of emissions and carbon removals.
The figure below depicts the human-induced carbon flows that take place between the lithosphere, atmosphere and land and ocean biosphere under a) our current situation wherein human-induced carbon flows into and out of the atmosphere are imbalanced and b) net zero, wherein human-induced into and out of the atmosphere are balanced, and temperatures stabilised temporarily.
Click here to enlarge the figure.
To stabilise global temperatures in the long-term, we need to go further than this, in achieving durable net zero. This builds upon the original concept of net zero (which considers carbon flows into and out of the atmosphere only), and requires net anthropogenic flows between the lithosphere, atmosphere and the land and ocean biosphere to equal zero. This will require further emission cuts and for carbon removals to be further scaled up. To be considered ‘durable,’ solutions need to be permanent – greenhouse gas removals must be prevented from returning to the atmosphere over time, for example through the destruction of forests or improper carbon storage.
The figure below depicts human-induced carbon flows between the lithosphere, atmosphere and land and ocean biosphere under the scenario of durable net zero, wherein human-induced carbon flows between each sphere are balanced and temperatures stabilised sustainably.
Click here to enlarge the figure.
