I first came across the term “net zero” while reading Bill Gates book “ How To Avoid a Climate Disaster” and have since seen that term frequently tossed around in climate discussions. What exactly is net zero and why does it have to be zero? Net zero is typically defined as the balance between greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by every country in the world and the removal of these gases in the atmosphere. We have to reach zero specifically because in order to fully stop climate change and its harmful affects to our Earth, every human must stop adding polluting gases in the atmosphere- anything more than zero will cause climate change to still occur.
Net zero is the typically defined as the balance between greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by every country in the world and the removal of these gases in the atmosphere.
So, it makes sense that net zero is a commonly used term when discussing climate because that is the ultimate goal we have to achieve. This may sound very daunting and even feel impossible to reach. It’s normal to feel like this considering there is around 52 billion tons of greenhouse gases being added to the atmosphere and 8 billion people on Earth that need to unite together to achieve this. On top of that, there are also various external barriers such as differences in language between countries, technology insufficiencies, and wealth disparities that add more complications to an already complex situation.
However, innovative technology can be a solution to helping us reach this goal. Today, more than ever before, new climate technology such as renewable energy, carbon captures, and sustainable reporting softwares are emerging that have become the starting point for effective improvement in our current climate crisis. In this article I am going to highlight just three green tech start ups doing cool things for climate but there are a lot more out there!
🌎🌳 Pachama- https://pachama.com/enterprise/ Pachama is SF based startup that combines AI, remote sensing, and satellite imagery to accurately measure the amount of carbon stored in trees and monitor tree growth. Through their platform, companies who are pressured to reach decarbonation and emission goals are able to easily purchase credible carbon credits. Pachama has raised $55 million dollars in their latest series B round of funding.
🌍☀️Solstice- https://solstice.us/ Solstice is a Massachusetts based start up whose mission is to provide affordable clean energy to everyone in the US. They aim to achieve this goal by connecting companies and households to “community solar”- a project plan that provides increased accessibility to clean energy with low costs by allowing residents to all share energy from one central solar plant, rather than having to individually install panels on each property. With their software and newly developed solar qualification metric, EnergyScore, users are able to have more of an opportunity to go solar and easily manage their experience once they do.
🌍🖥 Rheaply- https://rheaply.com/ Rheaply is a circular economy startup that was founded in Chicago with a mission to provide sustainable resource management and asset exchange to companies in order to reduce unnecessary waste. Instead of resources going to waste, Rheaply connects businesses with each other so that they are able to share, recyle, and reuse materials. Companies using Rheaply’s software are able to save money and become more efficient, while simultaneously adding sustainable change in their organizations’ processes.
I truly believe innovative technology, like the ones I mentioned above, in combination with new legislation and humans simply working together will allow us to reach this goal of net zero. Comment down below or send me a message via email estherna162@gmail.com on any climate tech companies that are doing cool things to help- I’m always interested in learning more!