Net-zero emission by 2070: What does it mean

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced at the UN summit on climate change that India is committed to achieving the net-zero emission target by 2070. Environment experts have hailed the decision terming it as the “real climate action”. In simple words, net-zero means not adding new emissions to the atmosphere. The UN says emissions will continue but will be balanced by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. In broader terms, this would mean greening several industries, including coal and other fossil fuels.

Clean energy is the key to achieve net emission. Clean energy would in return mean replacing coal and gas and oil-fired power stations with wind or solar farms, also known as renewable energy.

Net zero means huge declines in the use of coal, oil and gas and halting sales of new internal combustion engine passenger cars by 2035, and phasing out all unabated coal and oil power plants by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

This requires steps such as halting sales of new internal combustion engine passenger cars by 2035, and phasing out all unabated coal and oil power plants by 2040.

Electric transport is expected to play an equally big role in reducing emission. This will require huge increases in electricity system flexibility – such as batteries, demand response, hydrogen-based fuels, hydropower, etc. Cars will run on electricity or fuel cells, while planes will be relying on advanced biofuels and synthetic fuels.

Agriculture is another sector that will see a big transformation. According to the UN, livestock produces significant levels of methane, a greenhouse gas. Eating less meat would drastically cut this emission.

“Nature-based solutions” include forests, peatbogs, mangroves, soil and even underground seaweed forests, which are all highly efficient at absorbing carbon. This is why huge efforts are being made around the world to save forests, plant trees, and rehabilitate peat and mangrove areas, as well as to improve farming techniques,” says the UN.

A huge challenge, the Net-zero target requires an estimated additional $6-10 trillion in global investments, both public and private, in the next decade, according to an IMF blog. This amounts to a cumulative 6-10% of annual global GDP, it added.

The European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea, together with more than 110 other countries, have pledged carbon neutrality by 2050; China says it will do so before 2060.

India joins this group. Prime minister Modi upped the renewable energy target of the country to 500 Gw by 2030 from an earlier target of 450 Gw (Current capacity is at 175 Gw).