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What does climate neutral mean?
“Climate neutral” means that the same number of climate-relevant greenhouse gases are absorbed from the atmosphere as were previously released. Climate neutral therefore always means that when manufacturing a product, there is a balance between the emission and absorption of climate-relevant greenhouse gases, which include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane or nitrous oxide.
CO2 can be reabsorbed by a so-called carbon sink. These are systems that absorb more carbon than they release. These can be artificial or natural. Artificial carbon sinks include some buildings, but also certain geothermal plants. However, these sinks are currently not effective enough to play a role in climate change. Natural carbon sinks are soils, forests, moors and bodies of water. They store carbon like the carbon-based greenhouse gas CO2, but release it again when exposed to certain external influences such as deforestation and fires. Methane, on the other hand, can only be removed from the atmosphere through a chemical reaction, and there are neither natural sinks nor chemical or physical processes for the degradation of nitrous oxide.
In addition to “climate neutral”, the term “climate friendly” is also used. They both go in the same direction, but do not mean the same thing. Climate friendly means that fewer climate-damaging greenhouse gases are emitted than with a comparable product. However, unlike with climate-neutral products, the resulting emissions are not offset. The term “climate positive” is also often used in this context. This means that more climate-damaging greenhouse gases are absorbed than are emitted.
