If national governments across the globe are prepared to put minimising the climate threat ahead of protecting the fossil fuel industry, they will have to make major changes to how the net zero concept is being applied. This will require carbon offsetting to be brought in line with its intended application, and a consequential major reduction in its use.
The global objective should be to phase out fossil fuels as quickly as responsibly possible. Instead, the objective appears to have become how to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 without phasing out fossil fuels! It is hard not to think this has a lot to do with the power of the fossil fuel industry.
Anyone who thinks “Net Zero” is realistic without banning all fossil fuels is living under a rock. Unless we magically figure out how to make CO2 disappear we’re screwed, we’re too far down this road to turn back by regular means.
I read
[…] to turn back to regular memes.
and I am ashamed of myself.
Net zero is antithetical to the existence of fossil fuel companies, save for some amount of natural gas in niche scenarios & space exploration. Carbon offsetting will be greenwashed just like the recycling push of the 2000s. So will simultaneous carbon sequestering. This reads like a tabloid from the 50s saying smoking isn’t bad for you.
