Cero neto y la COP26

The document critiques the 'net zero' narrative promoted by the UK presidency of COP26, arguing that it ignores historical responsibility and relies on scientifically flawed assumptions about carbon removal. It warns that 'net zero' acts as a 'Trojan horse' for dangerous geoengineering and allows polluters to use carbon offsets to maintain business-as-usual emissions. The author calls for a shift toward 'real zero' targets, absolute emission reductions by the Global North, and the exclusion of corporate polluters from COP26.

• The 'net zero' concept is criticized as a 'doorway' for polluters to avoid discussing absolute zero emissions by claiming that emissions can be 'balanced' through removal, often using 'nature-based solutions' as greenwashing.
• The briefing identifies five primary reasons to reject 'net zero' targets: it ignores historical emissions (where developed nations emitted 2,390 billion tonnes of CO2 over 150 years), erases responsibility and climate debt, creates inequities for the Global South, exceeds the physical limits of natural carbon sinks, and promotes unproven geoengineering technologies.
• The document asserts that natural sinks cannot absorb the volume of carbon produced by burning fossil fuels and that carbon stored in these sinks is only temporary, meaning they cannot 'balance' permanent emissions.
• The briefing warns that 'net zero' plans often rely on dangerous, unproven, and expensive 'negative emission technologies' such as Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), direct air capture of CO2, and solar radiation management.
• Carbon offsets are characterized as a way to avoid reduction, with the voluntary carbon market potentially reaching $50 to $100 billion by 2030, which the author argues represents diverted investment that should have gone toward systemic transformation.
• Friends of the Earth International demands that COP26 focus on 'real zero' rather than 'net zero,' requiring absolute emission reductions by the Global North before 2030, the keeping of fossil fuels in the ground, and the exclusion of corporate polluters from the conference.

APA

Stabinsky, D. (2021). Cero neto y la COP26. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cero-Neto-COP26.pdf

Chicago

Stabinsky, Doreen. Cero neto y la COP26. Friends of the Earth International, 2021. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cero-Neto-COP26.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stabinsky |first1=Doreen |title=Cero neto y la COP26 |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=October 2021 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cero-Neto-COP26.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stabinsky2021cero, author = {Stabinsky, Doreen}, title = {{Cero neto y la COP26}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cero-Neto-COP26.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }