With reference to 'NET - ZERO' goal for 2050, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. It means that a country will bring down its emissions to zero by 2050. 2. It means that a country's emissions will be compensated by absorption and removal of green house gases from the atmosphere. Select the correct answer using the codes given below. Codes:
- (a)Only 1
- (b)Only 2
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — B, Only statement 2. 'Net-zero' (net-zero emissions / carbon neutrality) does NOT mean a country cuts its emissions to absolute zero. It means the greenhouse gases a country still emits are balanced — 'netted off' — by an equal quantity removed from the atmosphere through natural sinks (forests, soils, oceans) and removal technologies (afforestation, carbon capture and storage). So statement 1 misdescribes the goal: reducing emissions to zero would be 'gross zero', which is neither required nor realistic for a modern economy. Statement 2 gives the correct definition — residual emissions compensated by absorption and removal of GHGs. Hence only statement 2 is correct → option (b). (Context: at COP26 in Glasgow, just after this exam, India announced its own net-zero target year of 2070.)
- (a)Only 1 — Wrong — statement 1 equates net-zero with gross/absolute zero emissions, which is not what net-zero means; residual emissions are allowed so long as they are offset by an equal amount of removals.
- (c)Both 1 and 2 — Wrong — statement 1 is incorrect (net-zero is not the same as zero emissions), so 'both correct' fails; only statement 2 defines net-zero properly.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Wrong — statement 2 is the standard, correct definition of net-zero (emissions compensated by absorption/removal), so at least one statement is correct.
'Net-zero' (also called carbon neutrality) is a state in which the amount of greenhouse gas a country or entity adds to the atmosphere is balanced by the amount it removes. It does not mean halting all emissions: hard-to-abate emissions (from heavy industry, aviation, agriculture) continue but are cancelled out by carbon sinks and removal, so the NET addition to the atmosphere is zero. The year 2050 is the widely discussed global target for reaching net-zero to keep warming within 1.5 C, in line with the Paris Agreement.
The distractor trap is reading 'net-zero' as 'zero'. Statement 1 describes gross zero (impossible for most economies); statement 2 describes the balance/offset idea that actually defines net-zero. Recognising that net-zero permits residual emissions offset by removals immediately rules out statement 1 and confirms statement 2, giving option (b).
- Net-zero / carbon neutrality = emissions released are balanced by an equal amount removed (net addition = zero), NOT absolute zero emissions.
- Removals come from natural sinks (forests, soil, oceans) and technologies (afforestation, carbon capture and storage, direct air capture).
- 2050 is the widely discussed global net-zero target aligned with the Paris Agreement's 1.5 C goal.
- India announced its own net-zero target year of 2070 at COP26, Glasgow (Nov 2021), just after this exam.
Net-zero balances residual emissions with removals; it is not 'zero emissions' (statement 1). Only statement 2 is correct, giving option (b).
- Equating 'net-zero' with 'zero emissions' (gross zero) — net-zero allows residual emissions offset by removals
- Confusing India's target year (2070) with the global 2050 goal
UPSC and UPPSC test net-zero / carbon-neutrality both as a statement-based definition question and as current affairs (COP summits, India's 2070 pledge, NDCs).
Consider the following statements : Statement-I : The European Parliament approved The Net-Zero Industry Act recently. Statement-II : The European Union intends to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and therefore aims to develop all of its own clean technology by that time. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements ?
- (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
- (b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
- (c) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
- (d) Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct
Answer(c) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
Same concept — both turn on understanding the 'net-zero / carbon-neutrality' goal; the UPSC item hinges on the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act and the year of its carbon-neutrality (net-zero) target, the very idea this UPPSC item asks you to define.
- practice — not a real PYQ
At the COP26 Glasgow summit, India announced its target to achieve net-zero emissions by which year?
- (a)2047
- (b)2050
- (c)2060
- (d)2070
Answer(d) 2070 — India's net-zero target year, announced by the Prime Minister at COP26 (Nov 2021).
- practice — not a real PYQ
'Net-zero emissions' (carbon neutrality) means:
- (a)All greenhouse-gas emissions are completely stopped
- (b)Emissions are balanced by an equal amount of removals from the atmosphere
- (c)Only carbon dioxide emissions are stopped
- (d)Total emissions are reduced by exactly 50%
Answer(b) Emissions are balanced by an equal amount of removals — the net addition to the atmosphere is zero, not the gross emissions.