Even home-grown vegetables cannot automatically be counted as climate-neutral – it is important how they were grown and processed.
In the modern economy, it remains practically impossible to create truly “climate-neutral” products, despite a rapid rise in the number of such labels, explains Susanne Spies (Susanne Spies) of the German Environment Agency (UBA). Completely eliminating the climate impact of products and services remains a distant goal, the eco-design and environmental labelling researcher said in an interview with Clean Energy Wire. She explains why clear definitions are urgently needed for neutrality claims to be effective, where countries and companies differ in calculating emissions, and why even growing vegetables at home is not always climate-neutral.
Clean Energy Wire: Climate neutrality, greenhouse gas neutrality, carbon neutrality – many different terms are used for an idea that, for most laypeople, signifies efforts to reduce the negative impact of our economic activities on the climate or the environment as a whole. In your opinion, what is the most appropriate word to describe the goals of the German government and other countries, and which of these terms does the UBA use most often in its work?
Susanne Spies: It is perhaps necessary to distinguish between what is used in expert debates or legal documents and what is used in public discourse. Greenhouse gas neutrality refers to the net zero impact of CO2 and other greenhouse gases on the climate by reducing emissions and offsetting remaining emissions using sinks.
Climate neutrality, on the other hand, would mean the net absence of anthropogenic climate impacts, including the emissions of non-greenhouse gases. This also applies to aviation, where some emissions form clouds that change the atmospheric reflectivity and thus affect the climate without the direct impact of greenhouse gases. In the scientific community, of course, the correct use of terms is required. However, in broader public debate, climate neutrality is often used in a way that does not truly reflect the meaning of the term.
The German government uses the term climate neutrality to describe its goals. Is this word incorrect?
No, not always! The German government’s main national climate goal is to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. Regarding national goals, the Climate Action Act uses the correct term. However, to inform the public, the government also uses the term climate neutrality, which can perhaps be explained by the fact that this term is more familiar to laypeople. The balance between understandable and scientifically correct terms is not always easy to find. One could say it this way: politicians must speak in a way people understand, but science must be precise. (...)