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The Climate Question: What does 'net zero' really mean?

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25/04/2022 GMT

What does 'net zero' really mean?

BBC World Service - The Climate Question, What does 'net zero' really mean?

Many world leaders have pledged to go net zero

Many politicians are using the term net zero when talking about climate change, but what does it mean?

When talking about climate change, the term net zero has become popular with politicians over the last few years.
 
More than 130 countries have now pledged to go net zero to help slow global warming. 
 
Reaching net zero means reducing the amount of emissions as much as possible and removing any that remain from the atmosphere. 
 
We hear from communities in South Africa, where the government plans to reach net zero by 2050. But the country is heavily tied to coal and faces several challenges around employment and energy security. 
 
And while politicians make their net zero announcements, the United Nations projects that emissions will continue to rise even with the current pledges politicians have announced.
 
What does net zero mean and could it help climate change? 

Presenters Jordan Dunbar and Kate Lamble are joined by:
 
Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN climate change high-level champion for Egypt

Lola Vallejo, climate programme director at the IDDRI 

Dr Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Forum

Clarification: this programme includes a contribution from Dr Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Forum. Within the programme, we should have also said that the Forum questions climate change science and the cost of policies to tackle it.

 Reporter: Zinhle Kanyane
Researcher: Natasha Fernandes
Producer: Darin Graham
Series producer: Alex Lewis
Editor: Nicola Addyman
Sound engineer: Tom Brignell
Production coordinators: Siobhan Reed and Sophie Hill

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