With reference to 'NET - ZERO' goal for 2050, which of the following statements is/are correct ? 1). It means that a country will bring down its emissions to zero by 2050 2). It means that a country's emissions will be compensated by absorption and removal of green house gases from the atmosphere. Select the correct answer using the codes given below. Codes:

The correct answer is B) Only 2. Statement 2 is right and Statement 1 is wrong.

Statement 1 is wrong. Net zero does not mean zero emissions. It means that the emissions a country still produces are fully balanced by an equal quantity of greenhouse gases removed from the atmosphere. Zero emissions (gross zero) is a different and far more demanding idea. Most realistic pathways, including those the IPCC assessed in its 2018 Special Report on 1.5 degrees C, keep some residual emissions from sectors like agriculture, cement and aviation.

Statement 2 is right. Balancing comes from two sources: carbon sinks such as afforestation, reforestation and soil carbon, and engineered removal such as direct air capture with storage. The Paris Agreement (2015, Article 4) frames the second half of this century around a balance between anthropogenic emissions and removals by sinks.

Mains angle: Net zero links climate finance, forest policy and the debate over whether carbon offsets are a genuine substitute for cutting emissions at source.

Fact check: many countries, including the EU, target net zero by 2050. India announced a net zero target for 2070 at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, so a 2050 reference in a question should be read as a generic or other-country target.

Trap: Aspirants often equate net zero with zero emissions and mark statement 1 as correct.