Net Zero & Energy Transition
Evaluate the energy transition required to reach net zero: renewable energy scaling, electrification of transport and heat, green hydrogen; describe carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC); introduce proposed solar radiation management techniques (stratospheric aerosol injection, marine cloud brightening) and their potential risks and governance challenges; critically evaluate the role of individual behaviour change versus systemic policy in reducing emissions
The lesson
Net zero means the world removes as much carbon dioxide from the air as it adds. Getting there means changing how energy is made and used. You'll see more wind turbines and solar panels, electric cars replacing gasoline ones, and electric heat pumps replacing gas heaters. Green hydrogen, made by splitting water with renewable electricity, can power ships, planes, and factories that are hard to run on batteries alone.
Some CO2 is hard to avoid, like from cement factories or planes. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) catches CO2 right at the smokestack, before it reaches the air, then pumps it deep underground into rock. Direct air capture (DAC) works differently: giant fans pull in ordinary air and filter out the CO2 already spread through it. Both lock carbon away, but both use a lot of energy and are still expensive at a large scale.
Some scientists have proposed cooling the Earth directly instead of just cutting emissions. Stratospheric aerosol injection would spray tiny reflective particles high in the sky, copying what happens after a big volcanic eruption, to bounce sunlight back into space. Marine cloud brightening would spray a fine sea-salt mist over the ocean to make clouds whiter and more reflective. Neither removes any CO2, and both are risky: they could shift rainfall patterns in ways that cross borders, so no single country could decide to use them alone.
Recycling, driving less, and eating less meat all help, but you alone can't rebuild a power grid or electrify a whole transport system. The biggest emission cuts come from government policy and investment, with individual choices working alongside them, not instead of them.
Net zero needs a full energy transition plus backup tools like CCS and DAC, and any move toward deliberately cooling the climate needs careful, shared decisions across countries.
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