• Question: Do you think the UK or the whole world will ever be net zero and if so when do you think it will happen? 20 years? 50 years?

    Asked by Helena Dixon on 13 Jun 2023.
    • Photo: Luke Humphrey

      Luke Humphrey answered on 13 Jun 2023:

      I do believe the whole world will eventually become net zero one way or another, however we are already too late to avoid the effects of climate change.

      The UK can probably achieve net zero sooner than the globe. Note that it is easy for developed nations to offset their carbon footprints to other nations and then claim to be carbon neutral, but any real change must be global in nature. Not all nations have the same challenges and opportunities in this task.

      Nobody can predict the future but I imagine it will be something like this, at least in terms of electricity generation which is the sector I work in. Some other major challenge areas are transport and heating.

      ~ 2020s – 2040s:
      The best way to become carbon neutral quickly would be to rapidly invest in nuclear fission power plants. This is the best established carbon neutral energy source with the potential to displace our growing dependence on fossil fuels. Renewables cannot currents achieve this due to our lack of sufficient energy storage technologies, however the more renewables in the energy mix the better.

      ~ 2050 – 2100s:
      Further investment in energy storage could unlock the full potential of renewable sources, while nuclear fusion will provide the best long term alternative to nuclear fission as a baseline energy source (being also zero carbon, but with a more sustainable fuel cycle).

    • Photo: Ferran Brosa Planella

      Ferran Brosa Planella answered on 13 Jun 2023:

      I think (and hope) so, but I think it will take longer than planned (i.e. later than 2050).

    • Photo: John Grasmeder

      John Grasmeder answered on 13 Jun 2023: last edited 13 Jun 2023 1:05 pm

      That’s a really difficult question but it’s more likely to be 50 than 20. On the one hand, we really don’t have a choice, we have to get to net zero if we are to minimise climate change. On the other, if we fail, climate change in its most extreme form could make humans extinct – we don’t have a right to exist and we are not very good at controlling nature. One thing is certain: politicians are not going to get us to net zero, scientists and engineers are our best chance of getting us there.

    • Photo: Festus Ejikemeuwa

      Festus Ejikemeuwa answered on 13 Jun 2023:

      I believe the UK and the world can achieve net zero but I believe it will take longer. Fossil fuel will still be critical to world economy for at least 50 years.

    • Photo: Ian Duffy

      Ian Duffy answered on 13 Jun 2023:

      Yes, but it will be uneven progress and will require technology leaps in some places. It is unreasonable of developed countries to expect developing nations to not grow their economies and benefit their citizens, so solutions will need to be accessible and affordable for that to happen without carbon emissions. That will be easier in some sectors and countries than others, so may take time overall. I think 2050 is ambitious but achievable at a global level, and we’ll see some countries get there sooner than that.

    • Photo: Amy Stockwell

      Amy Stockwell answered on 15 Jun 2023:

      The BBC recently published an article with graphs predicting how close we will get to net zero. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65754296
      Remember that many of the countries that are not doing so well have many factories to produce things for us

    • Photo: Sharron Kenny

      Sharron Kenny answered on 16 Jun 2023:

      yes the UK seems to be leading the way to become net Zero however does it count if to do so they ofset carbon to other nations ? we are one world and it will take every country to combat climate change

    • Photo: Alexander De Bruin

      Alexander De Bruin answered on 16 Jun 2023:

      I believe it will happen, whether we want it to or not! Either we will change our society, behaviour, and technologies, or the planet will become uninhabitable and we will reach net zero by nature of the human race becoming extinct!

    • Photo: Alice Ind

      Alice Ind answered on 20 Jun 2023:

      One way or another we will have to reach net zero, but changing societies behaviours is very difficult and slow, so 50 years seems more likely, but it is difficult to quantify really. As the others have said the earth is one system so we cannot simply become net zero in one part of the earth to resolve the issues. We have to be really careful we are not burden shifting where we make our processes more sustainable by making other parts of the world less so – our economies depend on global trade and we have to take responsibility for where we source things.

Comments