What does “net zero” mean?

The best available science on climate change, represented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global GHG emission pathways, states that in order to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, we must limit global warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot.

Achieving this goal means global carbon dioxide emissions must decline by 50% by 2030 and that we must reach net zero GHG emissions by 2050. To be clear, venture investors and their portfolio companies alone cannot achieve this goal. But by supporting new companies to develop strategies from inception that seek to align with a global pathway to net zero emissions – net zero from day zero – VCA members intend to do their part.