Net zero

Also called: Net-zero emissions · Topic: Environment and Sustainable Development · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Net zero (also called net-zero emissions) is the state where all the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that humans release are balanced by an equal amount taken out of the air through removals, such as forests and carbon capture. The net result is zero.

• Formula: Net emissions = Total GHG emissions − Total GHG removals = 0
• Why it matters: net zero is how countries turn the Paris Agreement (2015) temperature goal into a national target. That goal is to keep warming "well below 2°C" and to try for 1.5°C. India has promised to reach net zero by 2070.

Explanation

How it works: emissions minus removals

• Why net zero matters: GHGs mix through the whole atmosphere. A tonne of CO2 released anywhere warms every country. Warming stops rising only when no extra gas is being added.
• "Net" is not "zero": a country can still emit some gas, for example from cement, steel or farming. It only has to take out the same amount.
• Removals (carbon sinks) are things that absorb GHGs from the air:
• Natural sinks: forests and tree cover take in CO2 as they grow.

• Technological sinks: carbon capture catches CO2 and stores it so it does not reach the air.

• Worked example (illustrative units):

• A country emits 100 units of GHGs a year. Its forests absorb 30 units. Net emissions = 100 − 30 = 70, so it is not at net zero.
• Cleaner power and industry cut emissions to 45 units. New forests raise removals to 45 units. Net = 45 − 45 = 0, so it has reached net zero.
• If removals rise to 50 units, net = 45 − 50 = −5. The country is now carbon negative.

Two ways to reach it

• Cut emissions (mitigation):
• Use non-fossil power (solar, wind, hydro, nuclear) instead of coal.
• Improve energy efficiency, so the same output needs less fuel.

• Change lifestyles, such as India's LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), a mass movement for using resources carefully instead of wastefully.

• Increase removals:

• Grow forest and tree cover.
• Use carbon capture technology.

What speeds up or slows down progress

• Speeds it up:
• Cheaper renewable energy, so clean power replaces fossil fuels.
• Technology transfer, where rich countries share clean technologies with poorer ones.

• Low-cost climate finance, meaning grants or cheap loans for clean projects.

• Slows it down:

• Fast GDP growth that still runs on fossil fuels, so total emissions keep rising.
• Sectors that are hard to clean up, such as heavy industry and farming.

• Loss of forests, which shrinks the sink.

• The target year matters: each country picks its own year under the Paris Agreement's bottom-up model. There, each country writes its own pledge, called an NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution).

In India

• The pledge: net zero by 2070 was the fifth of India's Panchamrit ("five nectar elements") commitments, announced at COP26, Glasgow, 2021. The other four were:
• 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030
• 50% of energy requirements from renewables by 2030
• a cut of 1 billion tonnes of projected emissions by 2030

• a 45% cut in carbon intensity (vs 2005) by 2030

• The roadmap: India's LT-LEDS (Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy), released in November 2022, is its plan for reaching net zero by 2070.

• Steps on the way (the NDCs):
• Updated NDC (August 2022), for 2021-30:
  • Cut emissions intensity (GHG emissions per unit of GDP) by 45% below 2005 levels by 2030.
  • Get about 50% of installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.
  • Create an extra carbon sink of 2.5-3 GtCO2e through forest and tree cover.
• NDC for 2031-35 (submitted April 2026):
  • Cut emissions intensity of GDP by 47% by 2035, from 2005 levels [1][2].
  • Reach about 60% non-fossil installed capacity by 2035, with technology transfer and low-cost international finance [2].
  • Create a carbon sink of 3.5-4.0 billion tonnes CO2e through forest and tree cover by 2035, against 2005 [2].
• This NDC sets no sector-wise cut obligations, including none for agriculture. It targets only economy-wide intensity [2].

• It is framed around Viksit Bharat 2047 [2].

• Progress so far:

• The non-fossil share of installed capacity was 52.57% as of 28 February 2026. That is the 2030 goal reached five years early [1][2].
• Emissions intensity fell 36% between 2005 and 2020, as reported in India's first BTR (Biennial Transparency Report, the progress report required under Paris), 2024 [2].

• India's per capita emissions are about one-third of the world average [2].

• Domestic architecture:

• NAPCC (National Action Plan on Climate Change), 2008 has 8 missions. The Solar, Enhanced Energy Efficiency and Green India missions support net zero directly.

• SAPCCs (State Action Plans on Climate Change) carry the national plan to the states.

• International institution: India sends its NDCs to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), after approval by the Union Cabinet [1].

Don't confuse with

• Carbon neutrality: only net CO2 is zero. Net zero covers all GHGs (CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and others), so it is the wider idea.
• Carbon negative: removals are more than emissions, so the net figure is below zero. Examples are Bhutan and Suriname, thanks to their large forest cover.
• Emissions intensity target: this caps emissions per unit of GDP, not total emissions. Total emissions can still rise under an intensity target. Net zero is about the absolute net total reaching zero.
• Zero emissions (absolute zero): no gas is released at all. Net zero still allows some emissions, as long as removals balance them.

Prelims Hooks

• Net zero = all GHGs balanced by removals. Carbon neutrality = CO2 only. Carbon negative = removals greater than emissions (Bhutan, Suriname).
• India's net zero target year is 2070. It was announced as part of the Panchamrit at COP26, Glasgow (2021).
• India's plan to reach net zero is the LT-LEDS (November 2022). Do not confuse it with the NDC, which is a 5-year pledge under the Paris Agreement.
• Carbon sink targets: 2.5-3 GtCO2e extra (2022 NDC, for 2030) and 3.5-4.0 GtCO2e by 2035 (2031-35 NDC) [2].
• Trap: India's 2031-35 NDC sets no sector-wise cut obligations (none for agriculture). It targets only economy-wide intensity, 47% by 2035 [2].
• Trap: the ~50% non-fossil target in the 2022 NDC is about installed capacity, not electricity generation. India reached 52.57% on 28 February 2026 [1].

Mains Points

• Growth now, net zero later (2070): India needs space to grow. Intensity targets let GDP rise while cutting emissions per rupee of output.
• Emissions intensity fell 36% (2005-20) while GDP grew at a CAGR (average yearly growth) of nearly 7% (2005-19) [2].
• Both targets in the first NDC (2015) were met 9-11 years early [1].

• So a later net zero year is a sequencing choice: India is still acting now.

• Equity and CBDR-RC (Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities): India's target is decades later than many developed countries' targets, and India defends this on fairness grounds.

• Its per capita emissions are about one-third of the world average [2].
• Developed countries caused most historical emissions.

• India points to a "mitigation ambition gap" left by developed countries [2].

• Finance decides the pace: India's non-fossil targets are conditional on technology transfer and low-cost international finance [2].

• Loans were still 67% of public climate finance in 2024 [4], so clean energy costs poor countries more debt.
• India objected to the NCQG (New Collective Quantified Goal) of at least $300 bn/yr by 2035, adopted at COP29, Baku, 2024 [3], calling it inadequate.
• Link this to GS-III answers on energy transition, the Green India Mission and climate justice.

Related concepts

• Common but differentiated responsibilities
• Nationally determined contributions
• Carbon intensity
• Carbon neutrality
• Carbon negative
• Climate finance
• New collective quantified goal
• Adaptation finance
• Loss and damage

Read more

• The global climate regime and climate finance