Net-zero emission targets for major emitting countries consistent with the Paris Agreement
Over 100 countries have set or are considering net-zero emissions or neutrality targets. However, most of the information on emissions neutrality (such as timing) is provided for the global level. Here, we look at national-level neutrality-years based on globally cost-effective 1.5 °C and 2 °C scenarios from integrated assessment models.
These results indicate that domestic net zero greenhouse gas and CO2 emissions in Brazil and the USA are reached a decade earlier than the global average, and in India and Indonesia later than global average. These results depend on choices like the accounting of land-use emissions.
The results also show that carbon storage and afforestation capacity, income, share of non-CO2 emissions, and transport sector emissions affect the variance in projected phase-out years across countries. We further compare these results to an alternative approach, using equity-based rules to establish target years. These results can inform policymakers on net-zero targets.
Authors
Specifications
- Publication title
- Net-zero emission targets for major emitting countries consistent with the Paris Agreement
- Publication date
- 9 April 2021
- Publication type
- Article
- Publication language
- English
- Magazine
- Nature Communications
- Product number
- 4596
