Getting to net zero means achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere. Many companies are aiming to achieve net zero by 2050. It will require switching energy use from fossil fuels to electricity, which will come from renewable sources like solar panels and wind turbines. Hydroelectric power, geothermal energy and nuclear power will also play a role. Separating the theory from practical realities is another matter, though.
Of 38 leaders from 29 energy industries worldwide who were interviewed for Volume 1 of the Net Zero Jeopardy Report, published this March by London-based not-for-profit organisation the Energy Industries Council, only 11% believe global targets for achieving net zero will be met. In his book Possible: Ways to Net Zero, entrepreneur and climate change expert Chris Goodall claims the route to 80% decarbonisation is relatively easy. The final 20% is more problematic, he argues. “Those remaining difficult parts of the transition are what much of this book is about,” he writes.
Thoroughly researched and written in clear prose, the book begins with some good news. “Wind, solar and hydro-electricity are now cheaper in most parts of the world than power generated by fossil fuels,” Goodall explains. Those cost advantages are very likely to continue and expand over time, too.
In the transport sector, China is leading the energy transition. Right now it dominates the global sales figures for vehicles powered by electricity, including cars, trucks and urban buses. Still, renewable energy from wind and solar is responsible for only about 12% of world electricity production. Fossil fuels, meanwhile, still provide over 80% of the world’s total energy requirements.
The demand for electric cars, however, is bringing down the demand for petrol and diesel, at least in the world’s wealthiest nations. But the amount of oil needed to make the plastic in those electric vehicles is increasing. “In 2040 [it] might be almost three times as much as in 2022,” Goodall writes.
The global food supply is another worry. Approximately a quarter of global emissions arise from it. “Net zero will be an almost impossible objective unless meat and dairy production is cut sharply,” Goodall explains. But that isn’t happening. Meat production has risen five-fold, globally, over the last six decades. This makes it more difficult to prevent the deforestation of the Amazon, which is still being cleared for cattle and for soya to feed them.
But there are many steps we can take. Goodall guides us through several ways to reduce atmospheric CO2, using processes that mimic or supplement natural routes. Reforestation is one method. This involves taking CO2 from the air and holding it in above-ground plant matter, such as trees. Restoring depleted animal life that aids carbon sequestration in oceans and on land is another.
Carbon taxes present certain challenges, but they are the cheapest and most efficient way of moving an economy away from high-carbon fuels. The knock-on effect of a carbon-free world should bring drastic changes, with two overriding positive outcomes.
First, it would reduce our costs of living. Energy prices in an all-electric world would fluctuate less and be much cheaper. Savings would also come from lower transport costs and better insulated homes, which would use heat pumps instead of gas and oil. Second, it would make us happier. All the evidence suggests that the pursuit of a lower greenhouse gas lifestyle leads to higher levels of contentment. “A better world is possible,” Goodall concludes. “Although the route may sometimes be arduous over the next couple of decades, the process of getting to zero carbon may not be the struggle that is sometimes assumed.”
Possible: Ways to Net Zero by Chris Goodall. Profile, 2024. ISBN: 9781800818941
