Carbon neutrality

Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing

carbon dioxide emissions with removal.

Carbon-neutral status can be achieved in two ways:  

 

Balancing carbon dioxide emissions with carbon offsets, often through carbon offsetting—the

process of reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions or sequestering (removing) carbon

dioxide from the atmosphere to make up for emissions elsewhere. If the total greenhouse gasses

emitted is equal to the total amount avoided or removed then the two effectively cancel each other

out and the net emissions are ‘neutral’.

 

Reducing carbon emissions (low-carbon economy) to zero through changing energy sources and

industry processes. Shifting towards the use of renewable energy (e.g. hydro, wind, geothermal,

and solar power) as well as nuclear power reduces GHG emissions. Although both renewable and

non-renewable energy both produce carbon emissions in some form, renewable energy has a lesser

to almost zero carbon emissions which produces much less carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels.

Making changes to current industrial and agricultural processes to reduce carbon emissions

(for example, diet changes to livestock such as cattle can potentially reduce methane production

by 40%. Carbon projects and emissions trading are often used to reduce carbon emissions, and

carbon dioxide can even sometimes be prevented from entering the atmosphere entirely (such as

by carbon scrubbing).

 

 

 - Global Warming Solutions