The Net Zero Myth. Why Reaching our Climate Goals is Virtually Impossible

If you want to get to know them better first, check out their latest video here:

Everyone is talking about Net Zero. But Net Zero what? What does this even mean? Is it a reasonable goal? How far are we on the way? And do we have any chance of reaching it? For this video, we have collected all facts and numbers that you need to join the discussion.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Net zero definition
01:56 Why aim for Net Zero?
05:05 Where are we on the way to net zero?
07:19 Not all is bad
10:54 Carbon Capture
15:03 Resistance
16:25 Summary
16:36 Make a Difference with Planet Wild!!

#science #climatechange #environment

[SabineHossenfelder]

Why do YouTubers replace videos so rarely, even if they know a video contains a mistake?

It's because if you upload a correction, that will be recommended to people who have already watched the first version. They are unlikely to watch it again, or not watch it entirely. The almighty algorithm concludes that the video is not interesting and stops recommending it to other people.

In brief, taking a video down is a bad idea.

As you see, I did it anyway. That's because the first version of the video contained a serious mistake, which is that I said that temperatures would continue to increase after reaching net zero. I had forgotten that carbon dioxide is taken up slowly from the atmosphere by natural processes, so left to its own devices the levels will actually slightly decrease. This together with the lag of temperature behind the carbon dioxide level is expected to stabilize temperatures. (Provided no other sources contribute, like methane leaks from the ground etc.)

It's a mistake that you find in other places as well, but I think it's really important to get this right and I do not want to contribute to spreading it.

You will greatly help us if you let this video run until the end, maybe give it a thumb up if you think it deserves it, and share on your socials, if you still use those and if you think other people might find it useful.


Thanks for your patience. We try really hard to avoid mistakes, but sometimes they slip through despite our best efforts.

[namewastaken]

An awful lot of manufacturing moved from the us and Europe to China at the same time the emissions dropped in the former and raised in the latter. I don't think this was so much a reduction in emissions as much as just moving them around.

[jeremyholbrook]

I can't help but notice how we in the West claim good economies while greening. 😂 While being wildly dependent on the developing world for almost all goods. So we are actually responsible for the carbon of the developing world. That gives us the ability to have a service economy while downplaying our impact on co2. It truly comes across as disingenuous.

[WesMacaulay]

Sabine is the ultimate no-bullshit scientist. I'm doing research on this topic and it's important to recognize that a lot of our environmental initiatives are a lot of noise - and short on substance.

[johnstevenson]

I'm so old, I can remember when "Net Zero" was a company that promised free internet. Yeah, that didn't work out either.

[Byzmax]

The countries that have reduced their GHG emissions have done so by closing their carbon intensive industrial base and farming the work out to developing nations. So really they have not prospered from reducing these emissions. They have just moved them to another continent. Excellent content as always.

[johnellis]

I was midway through watching your original video, when it conked out. Thank you so much for your integrity to retract this video and repost. These are complicated topics, and we appreciate your acumen in researching and conveying these to us, whether or not they concern Einstein or quantum mechanics.

[RTomassi]

Thanks. You and your team are modern day information heroes.

[fabkury]

That is one thing that "separates men from boys", or scientists from talking heads: Scientists acknowledge error. I'm glad I'm subscribed.

[JohnCena]

What is this net zero everyone keeps on talking about and is it better than coke zero?

[derozendaaltjes]

I appreciate your call for carbon capture, I am only worried about the insane amount of energy that will cost and whether that energy couldn't better be used for other purposes.

[zachreyhelmberger]

CONGRATULATIONS! You won a "Context' box from the purveyors of pure truth.

[usr-bin-gcc]

Much easier to have confidence in a communicator that can admit to their mistakes and correct them. Bit of a novelty in the climate "debate"! I felt a bit more optimistic after watching the video.

[lawsattitude]

Always great when someone acknowledges an error. This is why I'm glad I'm subscribed.

[StratosFair]

This is the integrity we need. Thanks for your hard work

[moonplanet]

Hi, I'm a tree!

Some fun fact: there's an expression in Japanese which sounds like "ki ni naru" and is written 気になる. It means:
1. to weigh on one's mind; to bother one; to worry about; to be concerned about; to care about; to feel uneasy; to be anxious​
2. to be interested (in); to be curious (about); to wonder (about); to catch one's eye​
3. to feel like (doing); to feel inclined to; to bring oneself to (do)​

But if you write it like 木になる, it has the same pronunciation, but it means "to become a tree" (or "I become a tree" as Japanese verbs don't have inflections for person).
Combining these, you can say "ki ni natta" and it will mean "I got interested in" or "I became a tree" depending on the context (in speech) or depending on how you write it.

[hs]

Also, some nations are fudging the numbers. For example, Canda doesn't count emissions from bushfires as it isn't manmade however they count the carbon absorbed by trees (which isnt manmade).

[kyleclawson]

I'm glad you focused on eco-system restoration at the end. I've long thought that if we took a look at building up new ecosystems, and revitalizing old ones, much of the carbon capture would start to take care of itself. I also think new strategies like regenerative agriculture need to be looked at more seriously. If we start treating our farms like ecosystems we'd likely environments flourish.

I understand why institutions focus on carbon dioxide, as it is easily quantifiable. However, I fear an overfocus on just the molecules, rather than the cycles and ecosystems in which those molecules are involved, misses the forest for the trees. Here's to focusing on building reslience through ecosystems!

[flammungous]

How much of the reduction of CO2 from Europe stems from the fact that many industries has been outsourced to China though? It's easy to claim economic growth in Europe if it's because we displaced it to China instead.

[Kangoshi_ru]

8:36 "So we've seen it's possible to decarbonize even large economies without sacrificing prosperity."
Really? Can you elaborate on that?