Recent news has said that Singapore and Australia have agreed to make their economies net zero (a balance where the amount of greenhouse gasses one adds is equally removed) by 2050. That’s tremendous progress for entire countries; maybe others will follow in their footsteps. But is everything so clear-cut? Some parts of this process include the $19 billion construction of solar panels in Australia in approximately two years, investment in green services, and more. Alongside Singapore and Australia, more than 70 places have pledged to reach net zero emissions within the century, including China, the US, and the EU, the three largest polluters of greenhouse gasses. Besides that, 196 countries agreed to the Paris Agreement  (with a goal to limit temperature increases to no more than 35°F compared to the pre-industrial revolution). But is it this simple?

More often than not, details of going green are quite vague, partially because no one knows what will happen in the future. Current plans of going green in 2030 from 2010 are already falling short, seeing a 14% increase in global gas emissions, and countries will need to cut emissions by more than 45% compared to 2010’s emissions to reach that goal. These goals will certainly have their costs. A McKinsey study claims that reaching net zero by 2050 would cost the globe approximately $275 trillion, but this number could be exaggerated. Regardless, the cost of reducing global emissions certainly won’t be cheap. Another question arises, assuming that everyone could pitch in and reach that goal. It’s not a problem of can we do it, it’s will we?

We’ve seen countless companies try and help, from sustainable resources and less plastic to carbon offsets and more trees. But results are still highly unclear, and it is going to take a lot more than that to solve our climate problem, which is why every little bit helps! The next time you think about throwing out your lunch, see if it’s recyclable. Have teachers ever felt frustrated when their markers were on that last sliver of life support? Instead of throwing them out, how about using a color drive instead? Maybe we can salvage something out of this situation after all!

https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement#:~:text=Its%20goal%20is%20to%20limit,neutral%20world%20by%20mid%2Dcentury.

https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition#:~:text=Yes%2C%20a%20growing%20coalition%20of,about%2076%25%20of%20global%20emissions.

https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-net-zero-target-evaluations/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/australia-and-singapore-strike-agreement-to-achieve-net-zero/2022/10/18/2f67b760-4eb9-11ed-ada8-04e6e6bf8b19_story.html

https://www.ey.com/en_au/climate-change-sustainability-services/can-we-really-make-net-zero-2050-a-reality

https://apnews.com/article/business-australia-economy-singapore-lee-hsien-loong-0e96ca38623ece45e3e2ad18280f8e95

https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/overview/in-the-news/what-it-will-cost-to-get-to-net-zero