— A special series —
The Race To Zero
History will look back at the 2020s as the most decisive decade in human history. The choices we make now will determine the kind of world this generation – and all those yet to come – will inhabit. As we often discuss on this podcast, science demands that we halve global greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this decade, to eventually reach net zero by 2050. Doing so will pull us away from the cliff’s edge, into a world that is fundamentally better – cleaner, more equal, safer, healthier and with an abundance of jobs and opportunities. The simple scientific truth means that the systems that underpin the global economy must shift to new, low carbon ways of operating and we must protect nature at the same time. This is unprecedented but it is in our hands to achieve. The only question is whether we can shift fast enough to avert the worst impacts of climate change. We’re at the turning point now – but everyone needs to play their part to make it happen faster. Can we count you in?
The Race to Zero is a campaign initiated by the High Level Climate Action Champions, to activate all sectors – local governments, business, finance, citizens – to embolden national governments to step up to the immense challenge and opportunities of this moment. During 2021 Outrage + Optimism is in the Race to Zero. We will explore the stories of change-makers overcoming challenges, building new opportunities and fueling this consequential race against time. We’ll expose the triumphs and the pitfalls, and most importantly, chart the pursuit of a high-stakes goal, where losing is quite simply unacceptable.
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Latest Episode
BONUS: WHAT THE HALE DOES THIS MEAN? WITH THOMAS HALE: NET ZERO GOALS
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A bonus episode for you this week!
With science demanding that in order to stay below 1.5C we must reach “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the absolute latest, how do we get there?
We know we can’t keep emitting as we currently are and just offset to balance it out. We need radical cuts and that means a complete reshaping of the global economy and most business models. Arguably, anyone could shape their net zero goals differently, unless we can compare these (literally) hundreds of commitments that have been made – and hundreds, even thousands more that will continue to come.
So here’s a question – what does :net zero” actually mean? Is it the same as carbon neutrality, or any of the other terms we hear and read about?
This week, Tom Rivett-Carnac dials up for a quick chat with Dr. Thomas Hale, Associate Professor in Global Public Policy at Oxford University. He’s part of a team that has just released a report – Taking Stock: A global assessment of net zero targets. The report is the first quantitative analysis of the robustness of the different types of net zero targets and provides a baseline against which we can compare country, city, or company level net zero commitments.
Thank you to our guest this week

Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
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