CLAIM: A tweep, PeterSweden, on Jan. 12, made a claim on Twitter that the whole Net Zero target has nothing to do with a safe planet, but a means by the elites to own everything in the world.
Climate change, this tweep said, was an excuse to grab more power.
“This whole Net Zero thing has nothing to do with saving the planet. It just means that you will own nothing while the elites own everything.
“They use the excuse of climate change to grab more power,” tweeted PeterSweden, who is renowned for making controversial claims about climate change.
The tweet as of Jan 24 has garnered over 51,000 views, over 3,000 likes, over 900 retweets, and several comments.
This whole Net Zero thing has nothing to do with saving the planet.
It just means that you will own nothing while the elites own everything.
They use the excuse of climate change to grab more power.
— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) January 12, 2023
VERIFICATION: To simply put, Net Zero is the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere.
Net Zero is reached when the amount added to the atmosphere is no more than the amount taken away.
Countries, cities and companies are increasingly committing to reach net zero by 2050 – removing as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as they produce to limit global warming.
Short- and medium-term emission reduction goals, consistent with the Paris Agreement, Ecohz said are set all over the globe to eliminate the worst impacts of climate change this decade. Climate change has been posing devastating impacts on people, animals and plants.
Under the Paris Agreement in 2015, 197 countries pledged to keep temperature rises “well below” 1.5°C to avoid severe consequences of climate change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found in its report of 2018 that “global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide would need to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050.
This means that any remaining emissions caused by human activity that cannot be abated, will need to be balanced by removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
Why is net zero important?
The United Nations argues that science shows clearly that in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a livable planet, global temperature increase needs to be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Currently, the Earth is already about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s, and emissions continue to rise.
To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement –, the UN asserts that emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
How can net zero be achieved?
To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, PlanA said there is a need for concrete and immediate climate action.
The latest report of the IPCC, working group III on climate mitigation, unveiled that the world has until 2025 to reduce the curb of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions before the planet starts experiencing extreme living conditions.
Another report even stated that by 2026, the world would hit the 1,5°C mark. Nevertheless, PlanA said even if the world meets this climate target, it is almost inevitable that it will temporarily exceed this temperature threshold but could return to below it by the end of the century.
The UN said transitioning to a net-zero world is one of the greatest challenges humankind has faced; as the target calls for nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, consume, and move about.
The energy sector, according to this global organisation, is the source of around three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions today and holds the key to averting the worst effects of climate change.
Replacing polluting coal, gas and oil-fired power with energy from renewable sources, such as wind or solar, it explains would dramatically reduce carbon emissions.
CONCLUSION: A claim that the net zero target has nothing to do with a safe planet, but a means by the elites to own everything in the world is FALSE. In order to avert the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a livable planet, studies show that global temperature increases will need to be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
This fact-check was produced by BONews Service with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, International Fact-Checking Network, and African Fact-Checking Alliance network.