net zero 101

Net zero emissions means achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions removed from the atmosphere.

The term ‘net zero emissions’ is often taken to mean every part of the economy will be zero emissions, however that is not the case. Some parts of the economy will be very challenging to fully decarbonise, which means the actual target is for each sector to transition to either low, zero or negative emissions (activities that draw emissions from the atmosphere and store them are described as generating negative emissions). Net zero emissions is achieved when the sum of these activities result in no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions being added to the atmosphere.

Energy accounts for around 80 per cent of emissions across the Australian economy.  For companies that have set a target of net zero within their own operations, strategic energy management can help them significantly reduce their emissions, however non-energy related emissions remain.

Any emissions that are difficult or impossible to eliminate can be dealt with by purchasing offsets. In Australia, the Climate Active initiative and Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard provide consistency and confidence in the voluntary carbon market, setting minimum requirements for calculating, auditing and offsetting the carbon footprint of an organisation or product to achieve net zero.

This acknowledges that achieving an economy-wide target of net zero emissions does not mean that every sector of the economy needs to achieve net zero emissions, and instead that we can use offsets to leverage the achievements of negative emissions sectors.

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