Net-zero is not enough

Global climate agreement must be about the allocation of available carbon space

The recent report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has raised a red alert and led quite correctly to demands for more effective actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the risk of a rapid global temperature rise. The developed nations have answered this with a net-zero carbon emission commitment for 2050 and China has responded with a similar commitment for 2060. India is now under pressure to announce its net-zero commitment.

This catchy slogan of net-zero must be seen in the context of the statement in the most recent IPCC report, “that reaching net zero anthropogenic