What does "net-zero" really mean for climate goals?
Fifty-five gigatons of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere each year, according to the United Nations.
The vast majority of climate scientists agree that human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, and that cutting emissions is necessary to curb warming trends.
The United States and North Carolina have goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reach “net-zero” by 2050.
Completely eliminating greenhouse gas emitting activities would be an enormous challenge in our current economy. Instead, countries are hoping to fight climate change with a "net-zero" strategy: removing one molecule of greenhouse gas from the air for every molecule that's released, making the net emissions zero.
That can be achieved by utilizing cleaner technology and more efficient processes to reduce emissions, as well as capturing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it.
"One of the easiest ways to do it is using Mother Nature," said Allegra Mayer, a researcher Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Plants just breathe carbon dioxide out of the air. It can be stored it in soil, forests, and cover crops."
She says North Carolina forests are some of the best in the country for carbon storage capability.
Permanent biomass carbon storage and direct air capture technology are also options, but these methods can require a lot of money and resources.
The faster the U.S. can reduce emissions at the source, the less it will have to rely on carbon capture and removal.
US deputy secretary of energy David Turk spoke to a crowd at UNC about how the US went from a 20% reduction in our emissions trajectory to 40% since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.
"We've seen now over $180 billion of private sector investments that have been spurred by these federal incentives," Turk said.
However, some say the clean energy transition should be moving faster. Out of 50 sectors and technologies highlighted by the Department of Energy, only three are on track to meet climate goals.
