What is net zero? | National Grid Group

Put simply, net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. We reach net zero when the ... Skiptomainnavigation Breadcrumb Stories Energyexplained Whatisnetzero? We’veallheardthetermnetzero,butwhatexactlydoesitmean?Putsimply,netzeroreferstothebalancebetweentheamountofgreenhousegasproducedandtheamountremovedfromtheatmosphere.Wereachnetzerowhentheamountweaddisnomorethantheamounttakenaway.Buthowcanweachievethisandwhydoesitmatter? Fromcountriesandcompaniestoindividuals,tacklingclimatechangeisatthetopoftheagenda;andonewaywecanhelptodothisistoreachnetzero.Indeed,theUKbecametheworld’sfirstmajoreconomytosetatargetofbeingnetzeroby2050. Whyisnetzeroimportant? Netzeroisimportantasit’sthebestwaywecantackleclimatechangebyreducingglobalwarming.Whatwedointhenextdecadetolimitemissionswillbecriticaltothefuture,whichiswhyeverycountry,sector,industryandeachoneofusmustworktogethertofindwaystocutthecarbonweproduce. Watchthevideo Whatisclimatechange?Evidenceshowsthatourplanethasbeengettinghotter.Thewarmest20yearsonrecordhavebeeninthelast22yearsaccordingtotheWorldMeteorologicalOrganisationandthewarmestfourwereallveryrecent:2015to2018.Globalaveragetemperaturesarenow1℃higherthaninthepre-industrialera.Adegreedoesn’tsoundlikealot,buttherealityisthatthisincrementalwarmingalreadyappearstobehavinganegativeimpact.What’smore,ifrecenttrendscontinue,thisissettoworsen,withpredictionsofglobaltemperaturesincreasingbyasmuchas3-5℃by2100.Evenwiththistinyriseinglobaltemperatureswearefeelingtheeffectsofclimatechange,witherraticweatherpatterns,including:heatwaves;floodsandseverestorms;lossofpolarice;and,risingsealevels.Thiswillonlygetworseifglobalwarmingintensifies.  Whatiscausingclimatechange?It’swidelyrecognisedbyscientistsandgovernmentsthatclimatechangeisbeingtriggeredbyhigherlevelsofgreenhousegasesintheatmosphere.TheirnamederivesfromthegreenhouseeffecttheycreatebywarmingtheEarth’ssurfaceandtheairaboveit.Thisiscausedbygasesthattrapenergyfromthesun.Themostcommongreenhousegasesarewatervapour,carbondioxide(CO2)andmethane.CO2isthemostdangerousandabundantofthegreenhousegases,whichiswhycuttingcarbonemissions,carbonfootprintsorseekinglow-carbonalternativesaresuggestedaswaystoaddressclimatechange.  Howcanwestopclimatechange?Theexcessofgreenhousegasesintheatmosphereistriggeringharmfulglobalwarming,soreducingtheamountofthesegasesshouldhelptotackleclimatechange.Thiscanbedoneintwoways:lowertheemissionswearesendingintotheatmosphere,fromactivitiessuchasindustrialprocesses,powergeneration,transportandintensiveagricultureremovegreenhousegasemissionsfromtheatmosphere,forexamplebycapturingcarboncreatedduringindustrialprocessesbeforeit’sreleasedorplantingmoretrees.  Whatdoesitmeantobenetzero?Netzeromeansachievingabalancebetweenthegreenhousegasesputintotheatmosphereandthosetakenout.Thinkaboutitlikeabath–turnonthetapsandyouaddmorewater,pullouttheplugandwaterflowsout.Theamountofwaterinthebathdependsonboththeinputfromthetapsandtheoutputviatheplughole.Tokeeptheamountofwaterinthebathatthesamelevel,youneedtomakesurethattheinputandoutputarebalanced.Reachingnetzeroappliesthesameprincipal,requiringustobalancetheamountofgreenhousegasesweemitwiththeamountweremove.Whenwhatweaddisnomorethanwhatwetakeawaywereachnetzero.Thisstateisalsoreferredtoascarbonneutral;althoughzeroemissionsandzerocarbonareslightlydifferent,astheyusuallymeanthatnoemissionswereproducedinthefirstplace.  What’sthedifferencebetweengrosszeroandnetzero?Giventheimpactthatcarbonemissionshaveonourplanet,youmightwonderwhywearen’taimingforzero,orgrosszero,ratherthannetzero.Grosszerowouldmeanstoppingallemissions,whichisn’trealisticallyattainableacrossallsectorsofourlivesandindustry.Evenwithbesteffortstoreducethem,therewillstillbesomeemissions.Netzerolooksatemissionsoverall,allowingfortheremovalofanyunavoidableemissions,suchasthosefromaviationormanufacturing.Removinggreenhousegasescouldbevianature,astreestakeCO2fromtheatmosphere,orthroughnewtechnologyorchangingindustrialprocesses.  Moreenergyexplained Carbonneutralvsnetzero–understandingthedifferenceWhatiscarbonintensity?Whatisgreenenergy?Whatarethedifferenttypesofrenewableenergy?Seeallenergyexplainedarticles