To meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2 (and preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius) compared to pre-industrial levels, will require significant economic and social transformation by all countries. In October 2018, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report suggested that to have a 50% chance of keeping global warming in check, global emissions need to reach “net zero” by 2050. Reaching "net-zero" by 2050 means that emissions produced 30 years from now would need to be fully absorbed through carbon removal from the atmosphere — such as planting trees or deployment of technologies such as carbon-capture and storage. Lockdowns imposed in many countries around the world to control COVID-19 resulted in huge decreases in transportation and industrial activity, which resulted in a drop in daily global carbon emissions during spring 2020. As global economies emerge from the effects of COVID-19, a variety of stakeholders have been urging governments around the world to use lessons learned during COVID-19 to develop and deploy economic stimulus packages that will drive large-scale emission reductions opportunities as a way to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. In response to these calls, business and countries have ratcheted up their climate action ambitions by committing to “net zero” emissions policies. In the USA, President Joe Biden announced an ambitions climate action agenda as soon as he was sworn in in early 2021, including committing to “net zero” emissions by the middle of the century. In November 2020, the Canadian government introduced its “net zero” by 2050 legislation. Other countries ranging from Bhutan, South Africa, Denmark, New Zealand, the UK and France have also made similar pronouncements towards reaching “net zero” by 2050. China, the world’s largest emitter, announced its ambition to become carbon neutral before 2060 in September 2020. This paper present a review of “net zero” policies being made by governments and industry. The key policy, financing, innovation and other enablers required to meet “net zero” commitments for the global energy sector are reviewed based on the results of recent studies and analysis. The paper also examines challenges that make it difficult to compare “net zero” policies of different parties and thus contribute to uncertainties around bending the emissions curve.
