What would a zero carbon economy look like?

Full medal for no children but only half a medal for being vegetarian Alegrias1 as I assume you eat dairy and eggs.

Same as our eldest daughter then Alegrias!
?

I have no children and have been a vegetarian for 35 years.

Where do I pick up my medal?

It isn’t zero carbon, it is zero NET carbon which is very different. It is the way to offset one against the other, like planting trees as mitigation. However, it certainly does mean cutting back on carbon in order to achieve this.

The biggest thing an individual can do for the planet is not to have children.

Zero carbon is just a political word bite, until there is enough environment to absorb the CO2 we all release. Nobody claims that Electric Cars are zero carbon but they are less polluting particularly in urban areas. Norway is close to having all renewable power now, their imports won’t be. Maybe the UK will be able to achieve that by the end of this century, but expecting all the goods and food that we import to be zero carbon is a long time in the future.
The big uncertainty is will the demands of global population grow faster than decarbonisation.

The biggest thing any individual can do for the planet is reduce meat and dairy in their diet . Animal agriculture is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gasses, also land and water use. Of course this isn’t popular as it means a change in personal habits. Perhaps governments will need a carrot/ stick approach

Energy storage is about far more than just car batteries. There's salt heat storage, hydro etc. that can be used to store domestic and commercial supplies. There's no need for everyone to understand them. Do you know all the workings of your car or boiler?

We really need to plan for - develop and create these technologies fast, though, or we'll be too late to prevent a disaster of our own making.

www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/renewable-energy-storage-pumped-batteries-thermal-mechanical/

I purchased a new car two years ago (just before lockdown, hardly used) and I did look at electric and hybrids. In the end I settled for one with a petrol eco engine it is extremely efficient mileage wise, whilst still having what my AC describe as a meaty engine (by their definition it’s quick off the mark and can sustain a high speed, not that I drive it like that)

I think the confusion about cars batteries, ect., undoubtedly means that people will buy them Smileless.
With so much obfuscation, how can we make a good decision?

I think you're right GrannyGravy and the production and disposal of these car batteries is far from environmental friendly.

I wonder if people are being sucked into buying something that isn't beneficial to the planet as it claims to be.

The amount of energy and resources needed to produce batteries is considerable.

I am sure that I have read that in order for an electric car (battery) to be considered carbon neutral it would take 10 years of use. Unfortunately there is no evidence (that I could find) to suggest that a car battery would last that long as it would depend on mileage, the times it has been recharged etc.

Something needs to be done, and yes let’s hope the scientists and engineers come through with viable solutions quickly.

(There is a shortage of rechargeable batteries at the moment, different reasons lithium and microchips)

I tell my GC not to worry about the world as clever scientists will always come up with solutions. Let's hope I'm right!

I agree with you. I can't understand how it will work either.

I think we are also expected to live in caves and wear animal skins, and most particularly, never, ever breathe again!
Only joking.
I agree, we can try to reduce production but how?