BaCCC/Module 4/Lesson 1/Part 3

False solutions to climate change and why they are not expected to work

Faced with the looming climate emergency, world leaders and negotiators gather every year for the United Nations Climate Conference (called a COP, or Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC) to define an action plan to address the crisis. The objectives of these summits often include a commitment to increase technology funding to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep the increase in global average temperature below 1.5 degrees by the end of the century. Lately, they have set their goal as “net zero” or “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.” (Other terms that mean almost the same thing are “carbon neutrality,” “climate neutrality” or “net-negative emissions.”)

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States,

Some actions, like using electricity from a fossil fuel-fired power plant, lead to greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. These greenhouse gas “emissions” are the root cause of climate change. Other actions help reduce emissions, like building a solar farm that lets us run that fossil fuel-fired power plant less – or even, like planting trees, take some greenhouse gases back out of the atmosphere.

A person or organization with net zero emissions is one that takes both kinds of actions, such that their positive and negative impacts on the climate are considered to effectively balance out. This is an important strategy, because it can be very hard, expensive, or even impossible to emit no greenhouse gases at all. By lowering one’s own emissions as much as possible, and then “canceling out” any remaining (or “residual”) emissions, an organization [or person] can reach net zero emissions and stop their effect on the climate.

/ Net Zero Emissions

In reality, net zero is sometimes an elaborate industrial greenwashing scheme that seems to give polluting companies the right to expand their operations and continue to pollute because they “capture” CO₂ elsewhere. Some major corporations are making disingenuous (insincere) “net-zero” and “carbon-neutral” claims based on dubious emission-offsetting practices that are untested at scale, rather than actual cuts in their emissions. If this continues, we will not be able to reach zero carbon emissions.

There are many useful resources available at the MIT Climate Change Portal

MIT Climate Change Portal

Now visit the following page on the Portal:

Net Zero Emissions

Scroll down to the diagram. We can see that while efforts are being made to balance out or offset the residual emissions after all the mitigation strategies of the factory are in place, it is still emitting 4,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent every year. This will make it impossible to ever stabilise the global temperature or the climate.

The wind turbine must be carefully placed so that it does not interfere with anyone’s life or livelihood. And by offsetting emissions by planting monoculture tree plantations, companies could trigger land grabbing and the displacement of communities, human rights abuses, water scarcity and further biodiversity loss. These “nature-based solutions” and offsetting schemes can divert attention from the root causes of the climate – the burning of fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gases.

Let us be very clear. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t build solar and wind power plants. In fact, we should be stepping up production. We have to be realistic about it, though. Attempting to keep up the current wasteful level of energy use and consumption (the current level in the “first world” that is) has unacceptable costs. We need to increase efficiency where we can, but we also need to face up to the end of a way of life which has never been very satisfying, and accept a lower impact.

“	Consider – every generation in human history somehow lived without any electricity, until a mere century ago. It’s time for us to grow up, accept limits, and make plans that take everyone’s well-being into account.	”
—Mary Wildfire (2020), False Solutions to Climate Change: Part 1, Electricity

Activity

Create a social media meme or message about the importance of getting to zero carbon – versus only net zero, which just kicks responsibility for carbon emissions “down the road” to less fortunate people today or to future generations. Post your meme if you like to.

One of the main ways that companies and public institutions measure and assess their greenhouse gas emissions is to look at them within three different “scopes.” (Understanding these scopes will help you speak the language of climate change mitigation should you choose a career in this field.)

The three scopes are a way of categorising the different kinds of emissions that a company creates, in its own operations and in its wider value chain (its suppliers and customers).

Scopes 1 and 2 are those emissions that are controlled by a company, whereas scope 3 emissions are a consequence of the activities of the company but the company has no control over them.

• Scope 1 emissions are from sources that an organisation owns or controls directly, for example, from burning fuel in its fleet of vehicles (if they are not electrically powered).

• Scope 2 emissions are caused indirectly by a company or organisation when the energy it purchases and uses is produced. For example, for a fleet of electric vehicles, the emissions from the generation of the electricity they are powered by would fall into this category.

• Scope 3 emissions are not produced by the company itself and are not the result of activities from assets owned or controlled by the company, but by those that it is indirectly responsible for, up and down its value chain. An example of this is when a company buys, uses and disposes of products from suppliers. Scope 3 emissions include all sources not within the scope 1 and 2 boundaries.

— Adapted from National Grid (2023)

Activity

Choose one false solution (maybe one that you have witnessed in your region) and explore it deeply to become an amateur expert on it. This will help you recognise false solutions while realising how much time, money, energy and imagination have been spent on “pretend solutions” (instead of simply cutting emissions).

Here are some resources to get your deep dive started:

False Solutions to Climate Change Part 1: Electricity/

False Solutions to Climate Change: Transportation

False Solutions to Climate Change: Agriculture

False Solutions to Climate Change: Buildings

False Solutions to Climate Change: Geo-engineering

The following is a resource that talks about some other false solutions to the climate crisis:

New Booklet on False Solutions to Climate Change

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you

• identified strategies that lead to efficient and effective mitigation of climate change;
• discussed the possible negative impacts of some mitigation strategies on the world’s most vulnerable people; and
• recognised false solutions to climate change and why they are not expected to work.