{"id":411442,"date":"2025-11-03T09:14:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T08:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=411442"},"modified":"2025-11-03T09:14:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T08:14:05","slug":"in-practice-net-zero-was-exactly-how-much-such-pledges-were-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=411442","title":{"rendered":"In practice, \u2018Net Zero\u2019 Was Exactly How Much Such Pledges Were Worth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Gary Abernathy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published at The Empowerment Alliance<\/a> and is re-published here with permission. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public \u201cnet zero\u201d pledges by countless corporate and political entities in recent years were always baffling. How could the United States or much of the industrialized world reach \u201cnet zero\u201d emissions without destroying modern living?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a reminder, \u201cnet zero\u201d is a term coined to illustrate a goal of \u201celiminating greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activities, which is accomplished by decreasing global emissions and abating them from the atmosphere,\u201d as defined by Net0.com<\/a>, a company that describes itself as \u201cthe market leader in AI-First Sustainability, enabling governments and enterprises worldwide to enhance their environmental performance and decarbonize profitably.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Net0 posits that \u201cthe global scientific community agrees that to mitigate the most severe impacts of climate change, we must reduce worldwide net human-generated carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 45 percent from their 2010 levels by the year 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by around 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a political atmosphere shaming anyone who didn\u2019t join the climate cult \u2013 led in the U.S. by the Biden administration and globally by the U.N. \u2013 attempting to outdo each other for the most aggressive \u201cnet zero\u201d policy was all the rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs of June 2024, 107 countries\u2026 had adopted net-zero pledges either in law, in a policy document such as a national climate action plan or a long-term strategy, or in an announcement by a high-level government official,\u201d boasted the United Nations<\/a>. \u201cMore than 9,000 companies, over 1,000 cities, more than 1,000 educational institutions, and over 600 financial institutions have joined the Race to Zero, pledging to take rigorous, immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as politicians know, promises and actions are often unrelated. Most people endowed with even a modicum of common sense and a grade-school understanding of basic science knew that meeting \u201cnet zero\u201d goals would require a reduction in the use of our most affordable, effective and reliable energy sources to a degree that would devastate modern economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that \u201cnet zero\u201d pledges were nothing but a cruel joke was made clear last month in a story by NPR<\/a> headlined, \u201cLeaders promised to cut climate pollution, then doubled down on fossil fuels<\/a>.\u201d Most thinking people were as surprised by that headline as by discovering wet water, hot fire or flying birds. It was not necessary to read further. \u201cOf course,\u201d they said to themselves, moving on to the next story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are, sadly, climate cult converts who, in their shock, likely needed more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They discovered: \u201cThe world is producing too much coal, oil and natural gas to meet the targets set 10 years ago under the Paris Agreement, in which countries agreed to limit climate pollution and avoid the worst effects of global warming,\u201d NPR reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA new report, led by the nonprofit research group Stockholm Environment Institute, shows countries plan to produce more than twice the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit),\u201d the story said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the true believers, here\u2019s the real punch to the gut: \u201cThe SEI report shows the 20 most polluting countries, including China, the U.S. and India, actually plan to produce even more fossil fuels than they did two years ago, when the report was last updated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, as he did in his first term, President Trump is pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement as he unleashes American industry and works to ensure energy affordability, independence and security for the nation. Legislation to roll back taxpayer subsidies for \u201crenewables\u201d and return to \u201creliables\u201d has already been passed or introduced in various states and is soon likely to be fortified at the federal level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After wasting billions of tax dollars on wind and solar subsidies that could have been directed toward schools, healthcare or other real needs, the fever is finally breaking. The world is slowly but surely awakening from the delusions of climate zealots who insisted that we were on the verge of catastrophe with constantly worsening weather disasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just last May, for example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted<\/a> an \u201cabove-normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.\u201d And just a few months earlier, PBS NewsHour<\/a> reported on a study showing that \u201chuman-caused climate change made Atlantic hurricanes about 18 miles per hour (29 kilometers per hour) stronger in the last six years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The message was clear. More hurricanes. Stronger hurricanes. This year\u2019s reality so far?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is the first time in 10 years that a hurricane has not made landfall in the United States through the end of September,\u201d according to American Press<\/a>. While \u201churricane season\u201d extends through November, September is usually the busiest month<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather is \u2013 and has always been \u2013 unpredictable. Severe weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, floods, blizzards and drought have always been with us, and always will. The attempt to demonize humankind for the frequency and severity of the weather has been politically motived and economically disastrous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNet zero\u201d pledges are being revealed for the false promises they most often were, designed mainly to win plaudits from the Lecturing Left. For leaders grounded in facts, real-world needs have always meant that no one is easing off the gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing columnist for <\/em>The Empowerment Alliance<\/em><\/a>, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Empowerment Alliance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The public \u201cnet zero\u201d pledges by countless corporate and political entities in recent years were always baffling. How could the United States or much of the industrialized world reach \u201cnet zero\u201d emissions without destroying modern living?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":357056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818056,691838000,691818940,691818154,691839290,691820492,691824179],"class_list":{"0":"post-411442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-greenhouse-gas-emissions-ghg","10":"tag-national-oceanic-and-atmospheric-administration","11":"tag-net-zero","12":"tag-net0-com","13":"tag-paris-agreement","14":"tag-united-nations-un","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0net-zero-istock-1190148959.jpg?fit=2048%2C1299&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1J2a","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":291517,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=291517","url_meta":{"origin":411442,"position":0},"title":"Outcome Of COP 28 \u2013 Just The Facts","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"16\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The 28th\u00a0Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 13, 2023. According to various reports, more than 100,000 people attended the conference and its associated events.","rel":"","context":"In \"1.5 degrees C. goal\"","block_context":{"text":"1.5 degrees C. goal","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=1-5-degrees-c-goal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0COP28-United-Arab-Emirates.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0COP28-United-Arab-Emirates.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0COP28-United-Arab-Emirates.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0COP28-United-Arab-Emirates.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0COP28-United-Arab-Emirates.jpg?fit=1200%2C720&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":291790,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=291790","url_meta":{"origin":411442,"position":1},"title":"The COP28 charade","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018All the world\u2019s a stage, and all the men and women merely players\u2019, wrote William Shakespeare. He might have been foreseeing the show recently concluded in Dubai, where over 100,000 people reportedly came to play their roles at COP 28, the 28th major climate policy summit.","rel":"","context":"In \"CO2\"","block_context":{"text":"CO2","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0NZW_Charade.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0NZW_Charade.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0NZW_Charade.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0NZW_Charade.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0NZW_Charade.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":289728,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=289728","url_meta":{"origin":411442,"position":2},"title":"US leads call to triple nuclear power at COP28","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The US will lead a push at the COP28 climate summit to triple the amount of installed nuclear power capacity globally by 2050, marking a major turnaround for the controversial technology at the climate negotiations. This move is aimed at reducing carbon emissions and combating climate change. The use of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Nuclear-Power-Plant-at-night-ratio-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Nuclear-Power-Plant-at-night-ratio-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Nuclear-Power-Plant-at-night-ratio-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Nuclear-Power-Plant-at-night-ratio-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Nuclear-Power-Plant-at-night-ratio-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C683&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":294195,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294195","url_meta":{"origin":411442,"position":3},"title":"Councils make \u2018undemocratic\u2019 pledges in dash to reach net zero","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/01\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"At least 160 local authorities have made commitments to beat Government's 2050 target but face accusations of not consulting voters","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate action\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate action","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-action"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Blog1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Blog1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Blog1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Blog1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Blog1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":414067,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=414067","url_meta":{"origin":411442,"position":4},"title":"Ten Years After the Paris Climate Agreement, Climatism is Crumbling","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"21\/11\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"COP30, the United Nations climate conference, is underway in Belem, Brazil. Thousands of representatives from all over the world have journeyed to discuss how to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to try to fight human-caused climate change. But ten years after the Paris Climate Agreement, the global consensus on climate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkLWh5Ejr88zRjQ55O9fZws6CkOLUJk5wXme5FNS6UcruPV-T_pkYyhMwLb3hh7Yqpkivd2yx-FRekVyGn4aXAgwgDdFgI-9MurGDTM_zbDfiMGUN0fuX57xbFgPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkLWh5Ejr88zRjQ55O9fZws6CkOLUJk5wXme5FNS6UcruPV-T_pkYyhMwLb3hh7Yqpkivd2yx-FRekVyGn4aXAgwgDdFgI-9MurGDTM_zbDfiMGUN0fuX57xbFgPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkLWh5Ejr88zRjQ55O9fZws6CkOLUJk5wXme5FNS6UcruPV-T_pkYyhMwLb3hh7Yqpkivd2yx-FRekVyGn4aXAgwgDdFgI-9MurGDTM_zbDfiMGUN0fuX57xbFgPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkLWh5Ejr88zRjQ55O9fZws6CkOLUJk5wXme5FNS6UcruPV-T_pkYyhMwLb3hh7Yqpkivd2yx-FRekVyGn4aXAgwgDdFgI-9MurGDTM_zbDfiMGUN0fuX57xbFgPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQMkLWh5Ejr88zRjQ55O9fZws6CkOLUJk5wXme5FNS6UcruPV-T_pkYyhMwLb3hh7Yqpkivd2yx-FRekVyGn4aXAgwgDdFgI-9MurGDTM_zbDfiMGUN0fuX57xbFgPA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":413447,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=413447","url_meta":{"origin":411442,"position":5},"title":"Ten Years After the Paris Climate Agreement, Climatism is Crumbling","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"16\/11\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"COP30, the United Nations climate conference, is underway in Belem, Brazil. Thousands of representatives from all over the world have journeyed to discuss how to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to try to fight human-caused climate change. But ten years after the Paris Climate Agreement, the global consensus on climate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Australia\"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQO2bXoOnzHxXsLYnWKhfe9J5HBU7vHYP30vVf6NCK4s6mEhDvjdmyFu6j8jlz6c8BtBesdAUcl8pNFSNJzsx_W_zP8MpfO-7x1gS4yFDguf81BNztbNsdB8OOV_QLtT.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQO2bXoOnzHxXsLYnWKhfe9J5HBU7vHYP30vVf6NCK4s6mEhDvjdmyFu6j8jlz6c8BtBesdAUcl8pNFSNJzsx_W_zP8MpfO-7x1gS4yFDguf81BNztbNsdB8OOV_QLtT.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQO2bXoOnzHxXsLYnWKhfe9J5HBU7vHYP30vVf6NCK4s6mEhDvjdmyFu6j8jlz6c8BtBesdAUcl8pNFSNJzsx_W_zP8MpfO-7x1gS4yFDguf81BNztbNsdB8OOV_QLtT.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQO2bXoOnzHxXsLYnWKhfe9J5HBU7vHYP30vVf6NCK4s6mEhDvjdmyFu6j8jlz6c8BtBesdAUcl8pNFSNJzsx_W_zP8MpfO-7x1gS4yFDguf81BNztbNsdB8OOV_QLtT.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AQO2bXoOnzHxXsLYnWKhfe9J5HBU7vHYP30vVf6NCK4s6mEhDvjdmyFu6j8jlz6c8BtBesdAUcl8pNFSNJzsx_W_zP8MpfO-7x1gS4yFDguf81BNztbNsdB8OOV_QLtT.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=411442"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":411445,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411442\/revisions\/411445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/357056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=411442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=411442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=411442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}