Carbon Neutrality: A reality, or a scam?

According to the Agence de la Transition Ecologique (ADEME), the term "carbon neutrality" aims to neutralise, on a global scale, all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from human activity by sequestering equivalent quantities of CO2. In other words, this reality is a matter of keeping emissions out of the atmosphere over the long, by holding as much carbon as we emit to stabilise its concentration level in the environment and limit the increase in the planet's global temperature.

The pursuit of carbon neutrality is not a scam

Many actors are mobilising, aiming to do their part. From companies to citizens and territories, there is a willingness to reach "global carbon neutrality" that increase the need of communicating around the term. However, in reality, this claim doesn't count with a shared framework to define its implications. We can observe various interpretations of what "carbon neutrality" represents, often giving the illusion that an actor, a product or an activity would no longer impact the climate. The democratisation of the word being used by people who don't fully understand its ins and outs results not in a scam but an empty promise based on hope. The pursuit of carbon neutrality only makes sense on a global scale.

Individually, economic actors, local authorities, and citizens committed to carbon neutrality are not, nor can they become, or claim to be, "carbon neutral ", which is meaningless on their scale. As explained by M. Jancovici, when a company declares itself "carbon neutral ", it does not mean that it has instantly put itself "outside the climate problem". A company belongs to a value chain. All the links (suppliers, customers, partners, etc.) depend on fossil fuel machines or even deforestation, and therefore on CO2 emissions, whether these emissions are their property or not. The risk comes from the dependence, not from the ownership!

To err is human, so naturally, our Tapio team has mistaken some tricky concepts and wordings regarding "carbon neutrality". Fortunately, there're institutions such as ADEME, or Carbone 4, that shed light on climate blurs. Today, these studies enable companies like ours to revisit our approach to support the sustainable transition and align our overall strategy on the right path.

Companies have the power to enhance their contribution to global carbon neutrality through their actions.

The sequestration potential of our forests, oceans and soils is insufficient to balance our emissions' current and trend levels. Adopting ambitious reduction strategies as soon as possible will allow us to decarbonise our ecosystems and increase the available carbon sinks on time. Companies have the capacity to support this transition through their actions.

Following the Tapio approach, our Solution Generator helps businesses to implement an action plan, prioritising their perimeter of responsibility. To kick-off an effective carbon strategy, we encourage our customers to consider this step, based on their activity data and overall GHG impact, before starting to finance carbon-negativeor carbon sequestration projects.