Phrase/Word of the Year 2021

Carbon-neutral

Earlier this year, the COP (Conference of Parties) 21 Convention on Climate Change was held in Glasgow. Of all the terms regularly heard on the news and online during the convention, ‘carbon-neutral’ stood out as both widely used and ill-understood.

According to climate scientists (not Jane or John on Facebook), we need to significantly reduce carbon emissions into our atmosphere to stop Earth warming by more than an average of 1.5°C. So, when a person or organisation says they are ‘carbon neutral’, it usually means they’ve lowered how much carbon dioxide they’re responsible for releasing into the Earth’s atmosphere.

What would carbon neutrality mean for the UK? - BBC Bitesize