What is zero carbon?

The drive to zero carbon is in full swing and renewable energy, and geothermal energy has a significant part to play.

But what do we mean by zero carbon?

How does it differ from net zero?

And can we really turn back the clock on fossil fuels that have powered the world for centuries?

What better way to throw light on the subject that starting at our greatest source of light – the sun.

Its rays pass through our planet’s atmosphere to reach the earth’s surface where they are absorbed and then radiated back upwards in the form of infrared heat.

This heat is then absorbed by what we term “greenhouse gases” which act like a blanket and radiate heat back toward the earth’s surface.

These greenhouse gases are essential if life is to exist on earth – without them the average temperature would be -20°C.

However, human activities, and in particular the burning of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil), have massively increased the concentration of greenhouse gasses (such as carbon dioxide) thus radiating more heat back and warming the planet.

We have already seen the impact of this in terms of global warming and, left unchecked, this rise will continue impacting different parts of the world in different ways. Scientists predict increased sea levels and temperature leading to drought, wildfires and hurricanes, flood and storms resulting in severe impact on the world food production and many economies.

By reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases, we can effectively reduce the thickness of this “blanket” and so stop the world from overheating.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) forms 80% of manmade greenhouse gas which is why there is so much focus on it.

By switching from fossil fuels to clean energy we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.

Switching to a carbon free world cannot happen overnight, however carbon dioxide capture and sequestration is a set of technologies that can potentially greatly reduce CO2 emissions from new and existing coal and gas-fired power plants, industrial processes, and other sources.

For example, capturing CO2 from coal-fired power plant, transporting via pipeline, and injecting and safely storing deep under the ground or seabed can prevent emissions entering the atmosphere.

In addition, carbon dioxide can be removed (sequestrated) from the atmosphere when it is absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle. So, planting more trees is a way of off-setting carbon dioxide emissions caused, for example, by flying.

Where an entities carbon emissions are balanced out by funding an equivalent amount of carbon savings elsewhere, they are said to be carbon neutral or net zero.

In 2015, 196 nations signed up to the “Paris Agreement”, a legally binding international treaty on climate change. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

To help achieve this, the UK Government has set a target of being net zero by 2050.

Geothermal energy has many advantages, including the reduction of CO2 released into the atmosphere when compared with fossil-based fuels. The source of geothermal energy is the heat generated by the Earth’s core. These hot reservoirs are naturally replenished making it both a renewable and sustainable source of energy with the potential to make a significant contribution to the goal of a net zero world.

See there’s a reason why we called our company Go Geothermal!