We all make mistakes sometimes. Typically this has little to no consequences, but when your YouTube subscriber base is nearly 7 million, this can cause misinformation to spread quickly.
Ben Shapiro once used his platform to criticize a speech by climate activist Greta Thunberg, who said the world needs to “forget about net-zero emissions” and that we instead need “real zero” emissions to effectively tackle climate change. climate crisis.
Shapiro described this claim as “crazy,” but his reasoning seems a little flawed. The conservative commentator said net zero occurs when we do not produce additional emissions than we already produce. However, this is an incorrect definition of the term.
On TikTokPhD student Rosh (@all_about_climate), trained in Earth and climate studies, explained what net zero actually refers to.
Rosh noted that “people often get it wrong,” so it’s not all that surprising that Shapiro also made a mistake.
“What net zero means is we stop adding CO2 to the atmosphere,” Rosh said. “So actually, Greta is right here, because right now we’re pumping billions and billions of tons of CO2, mainly, but greenhouse gases more broadly, into the atmosphere, and it’s accumulating there.”
Rosh goes on to say that net zero means we would “effectively reduce our emissions to the point where they are offset by the amount of carbon the world naturally absorbs on its own.”
Oceans and forests act as carbon sinks to absorb this polluting gas from the atmosphere and store it. But carbon capture technology is also becoming more prevalent, sucking the planet-warming gas out of the atmosphere.
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However, the scale of this technology is nowhere near what we would need to achieve net-zero or negative emissions. As it stands, Rosh noted that existing carbon capture technology can only address 0.1% of total global greenhouse gas pollution.
Governments around the world are striving to achieve net zero emissions, with policies such as phasing out coal-fired power plants in favor of pollution-free renewable energy, providing tax incentives and credits for electric vehicle purchases and improving recycling networks.
But we can all also do small things to help. One of them is educate ourselves about climate issues and understand what specific terms like net zero mean, which can also help when chat with friends and family about what we can do to help ensure the health of the planet.
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