{"id":428708,"date":"2026-02-28T19:26:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T18:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=428708"},"modified":"2026-02-28T19:27:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T18:27:00","slug":"bloomberg-net-zero-obituary-even-at-the-peak-of-its-popularity-net-zero-looked-far-fetched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=428708","title":{"rendered":"Bloomberg Net Zero Obituary: \u201cEven at the peak of its popularity, net zero looked far-fetched\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloomberg was until recently Net Zero\u2019s chief champion. But now it was always obvious that Net Zero ambitions were not grounded in reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Net Zero Is Dead. Long Live Renewable Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

February 25, 2026 at 2:00 PM GMT+10
By Javier Blas<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. He is coauthor of \u201cThe World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth\u2019s Resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In diplomacy, words matter. When the world\u2019s richest nations got together in 2022<\/a> for their biennial energy meeting, their communique mentioned \u201cnet zero\u201d 13 times; in 2024<\/a>, the references went up to 15. After last week\u2019s gathering<\/a>? Just one occurrence \u2014 and that was to underline the lack of universal support. The word-count collapse is illustrative of the direction of global energy policy: Net zero is, effectively, dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even at the peak of its popularity, net zero looked far-fetched. One had to believe, as a matter of faith, that consumption of oil, natural gas and coal would drop following stylized cliff-like curves. With current energy-related annual CO2 emissions running above 35,000 million metric tons, reducing them to something that would equal net zero was an impossible task. On current trends, emissions are likely to remain close to current levels for the next 25 years. Even if countries adopt most of the energy policies they\u2019ve announced \u2014 a big if \u2014 they\u2019ll remain above 25,000 million tons a year until the middle of the century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few nations insisted on keeping the net-zero idea alive \u2014 notably the UK and Spain \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But don\u2019t mistake the death of net zero for the end of renewable energy. The latter is very much alive. For the foreseeable future, electricity will be the fastest growing form of energy \u2014 and renewables will cover a significant chunk of the increase. The world will remain addicted to fossil fuels, but more of its additional power needs will be covered by solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and other green sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2026-02-25\/climate-change-net-zero-is-dead-long-live-renewable-energy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What a change a few years can make. Back in 2024, a Bloomberg columnist pronouncing the obituary of Net Zero would have been unthinkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bloomberg: Europe Must Double Down on Net Zero<\/a><\/blockquote>