What is Net-Zero?

Net zero is short for net zero emissions. In order to tackle climate change, atmosphere-warming emissions need to fall to effectively zero.  

This would be done by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a level where they can be balanced by the removal of warming gases, like carbon dioxide. 

Why not just stop all emissions? Because some emissions, like from growing food, cannot be reduced through simple switches (for example to renewable energy). 

And that’s where the “net” comes in. It refers to the final overall quantity of emissions produced once removal is taken into account, which should be zero.