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AbstractIn recent years, the target of reaching "net zero" emissions by 2050 has come to the forefront of global climate politics. Net zero would see carbon emissions matched by carbon removals and should allow the planet to avoid dangerous climate change. But the recent prominence of this goal should not distract from the fact that there are many possible versions of net zero. Each of them will have different climate justice implications, and some of them could have very negative consequences for the world's poor. This article demonstrates the many ambiguities of net zero, and argues in favor of a net zero strategy in which those who can reasonably bear the burden adopt early and aggressive mitigation policies. We also argue for a net zero strategy in which countries place the lion's share of their faith in known emissions reduction approaches, rather than being heavily reliant on as-yet-unproven "negative emissions techniques." Our overarching goal is to put net zero in its place, by providing a clear-sighted view of what net zero will achieve, and where the "net" in net zero needs to be tightened further if the world is to achieve climate justice.

"What does sustainable business and net zero carbon emission mean for businesses globally? How should companies globally transform into sustainable businesses with net zero carbon emissions? This book unpacks the institutional, organisational and management challenges in pursuing sustainable business and carbon neutrality for businesses. Written by an internationally recognised Climate and Business expert, Wang provides real-life cases across different countries and business sectors. He outlines potential policy implications and strategy options for companies to consider in their transitions to sustainable business practices. He also explores important new global developments in smart cities, green transport, and carbon solutions, and how the adoption of sustainable finance and green investments can accelerate businesses transformation. This book will appeal to anyone interested to learn more about the successful planning and execution of sustainable business and net zero carbon neutrality transformations"--

This paper explores the role that hydrogen can play in helping Alberta decarbonize its electricity system. Alberta has an abundance of natural gas resources that can be converted to hydrogen fuel and further used to generate electricity either through a turbine or through a fuel cell. Since Alberta has a significant portion of its current electricity needs supplied by combustion and steam turbines, such turbines can be repurposed to use hydrogen fuels and therefore reduce the amount of stranded assets as the province moves towards lower emissions in the electricity industry. Using hydrogen in the electricity industry can also complement a higher percentage of variable renewable energy resources, like wind and solar, by absorbing excess generation via electrolysis and providing much needed reliability as a peaking product. The carbon price and associated carbon policy in Alberta appears to be a key driver incentivizing hydrogen use in the electricity industry. Our model comparing the marginal costs of natural gas versus hydrogen for electricity production concludes that with the current carbon policy in Alberta and a rising carbon price to $170 per tonne CO2e in 2030, hydrogen has the potential to compete with natural gas as a dominant, "on-demand" power source.

Airlines for America (A4A) announced the commitment of its member carriers to work across the aviation industry and government to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Some A4A members have already put net-zero goals in place, which means that the infrastructure and operational capabilities need to be even more advanced, meaning more commitment is needed.

Given that the Paris Agreement has strengthened the long-term temperature goal and that it calls for a balance of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and sinks within the 21st century, there is the urgent need to re-assess the long-term targets of the EU and to show how the target of GHG neutrality can be reached in the EU. The aim of this study was to design a scenario called "GHGneutral EU2050" as one way to realize a European Union with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions under further sustainability criteria. The scenario shows that a GHG-neutral EU is feasible even without the use of carbon capture and storage and with limited amounts of bioenergy. Key components of the scenario in all energy-consuming sectors (industry, buildings and transport) are a strong increase in energy efficiency as well as far-reaching electrification. These measures can reduce the final energy demand (including international transport) by about 37% and the share of electricity can be increased to almost 50%. In addition, a broad portfolio of other renewable energy options has to be exploited and substantial quantities of renewable fuels are required, which are produced from renewable electricity via electrolysis or based on biomass. Due to unavoidable GHG emissions from agriculture, industrial processes and waste treatment, achieving GHG neutrality also requires lower activity of the agricultural sector and an increased GHG sink from forestry. Besides the detailed quantitative description of a sectoral setup for all GHG-emitting sectors, the study contains a qualitative discussion of the sectoral options to reach GHG-neutrality, cross-sectoral interactions as well as the challenges associated with realizing such a scenario.