sustainability 101: net zero, carbon neutral, climate positive - what do they all mean?

when you hear about climate change or sustainability in the news, you may hear terms such as “net zero”, “climate neutral”, and “carbon neutral” tossed around. if you’re unsure of what they mean and they all kinda seem the same, read on :)

while they all generally refer to emission reductions goals, there are important distinctions in the types of greenhouse gases they consider and what the goal is measured against.

carbon neutral: is when the amount of carbon (CO2) that a company/city/government/entity emits into the atmosphere is equal to the amount of carbon being absorbed by the atmosphere or carbon sinks. typically a company will become carbon neutral by first reducing their CO2 emissions as much as possible, then offsetting the remainder of their emissions through carbon offsets (e.g. planting trees)

climate neutral: when a company/city/government/entity’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are fully offset by greenhouse gas reductions or removals so that there is no net GHG impact

net zero: is when all GHG emissions are equal to the GHG being removed from the atmosphere, on a global scale. net zero often refers to the point at which emissions from human activity are no longer further contributing to climate change

climate positive: is when a company/city/government/entity is removing more GHG emissions than it is emitted. This can be done through offsets, removals, or avoidance.

carbon negative: when a company/city/government/entity removes more carbon than it emits. carbon negative is typically achieved by first reducing carbon emissions, then removing the remaining (plus some) through carbon sequestration, offsets, removals, or avoidance.

note that an easy distinction between many of these terms is whether it refers to “carbon….” in which case the term only refers to carbon dioxide as the GHG being emitted, tracked, and reduced. however, carbon dioxide is not the only GHG. Terms that use “climate…..” typically refer to GHGs as a whole, including other GHGs such as methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor. So, if comparing carbon neutral and climate neutral goals, the goal that is climate neutral is more comprehensive in addressing the full range of GHG emissions.