What does 'net zero' really mean?

When talking about climate change, the term net zero has become
popular with politicians over the last few years. More than 130
countries have now pledged to go net zero to help slow global
warming. Reaching net zero means reducing the amount of emissions
as much as possible and removing any that remain from the
atmosphere. We hear from communities in South Africa, where the
government plans to reach net zero by 2050. But the country is
heavily tied to coal and faces several challenges around
employment and energy security. And while politicians make their
net zero announcements, the United Nations projects that
emissions will continue to rise even with the current pledges
politicians have announced. What does net zero mean and could it
help climate change?


Presenters Jordan Dunbar and Kate Lamble are joined by: Dr
Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN climate change high-level champion for
Egypt


Lola Vallejo, climate programme director at the IDDRI


Dr Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Forum


Clarification: this programme includes a contribution from Dr
Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Forum. Within
the programme, we should have also said that the Forum questions
climate change science and the cost of policies to tackle it.


Reporter: Zinhle Kanyane Researcher: Natasha Fernandes Producer:
Darin Graham Series producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Nicola Addyman
Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Production coordinators: Siobhan
Reed and Sophie Hill