Net Zero

ESG

A state in which greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by removals — achieving carbon neutrality.

Sources

1. UN Climate Change (UNFCCC) — A Beginner’s Guide to Climate Neutrality, 26 February 2021 unfccc.int accessed 23 September 2026

UNFCCC’s own guide defines the neighbouring term and, in doing so, the one people actually use: “climate neutrality refers to the idea of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by balancing those emissions so they are equal to, or less than, the emissions removed, as well as accounting for regional or local biogeophysical effects of human activities, such as changes in surface albedo or local climate.” Two things in that sentence are routinely dropped when the phrase is used commercially. “Balancing” means emissions must be matched by removals, which is a narrower idea than buying any offset that reduces someone else’s emissions. And the definition reaches beyond the greenhouse gas ledger to biogeophysical effects such as albedo — a dimension almost no corporate net zero claim addresses at all.

What this source settles. Where the text above quotes a regulation or a statute, that instrument governs and its own later amendments prevail over any summary. Where it quotes an institution’s explanatory page or a standard-setter, it is authoritative for how the body understands its own regime and for the figures the body itself publishes — and not for whether the regime works. Read the instrument for obligations, and look beyond the issuer for evaluation.

Related terms

• Carbon Footprint
• Circular Economy
• CSDDD
• Environmental Social Governance
• Fair Trade Certification
• GOTS Certification

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).