The Real Zero Roundtable

14th April 2022

Four months on from COP26 and many had hoped that the net-zero transition would have picked up speed. Instead, a disruptive cocktail of war, misinformation and an energy crisis has cast doubt over efforts to embrace a green and just transition. So, in this current climate what needs to happen to the net-zero movement?

At edie’s virtual roundtable, sponsored by Schneider Electric, a group of energy and sustainability professionals from some of the world’s biggest companies argued that net-zero targets needed redefining in a way that laid out a clear and transparent trajectory towards a low-carbon future.

The roundtable took place against a backdrop of devastation facing humanity. The IPCC’s latest report highlights the “atlas of human suffering” that the climate crisis has caused, with more than 3.3 billion people – half of the world’s population – now “highly vulnerable” to impacts. Additionally, the emergence of war in Ukraine is steeped in a long history of fossil fuels, with Ukrainian climate scientist, Svitlana Krakovska stating that “human-induced climate change and the war on Ukraine have the same roots – fossil fuels — and our dependence on them”.

Here, edie outlines the current challenges and opportunities facing a “real” net-zero transition.