Cited by 1,326Climate Change Policy and EconomicsEnvironmental Impact and SustainabilityClimate Change and Sustainable Development

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 101 of the 101 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 1 of the 138 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Strategies to achieve a carbon neutral society: a review

Open access

Abstract

The increasing global industrialization and over-exploitation of fossil fuels has induced the release of greenhouse gases, leading to an increase in global temperature and causing environmental issues. There is therefore an urgent necessity to reach net-zero carbon emissions. Only 4.5% of countries have achieved carbon neutrality, and most countries are still planning to do so by 2050–2070. Moreover, synergies between different countries have hampered synergies between adaptation and mitigation policies, as well as their co-benefits. Here, we present a strategy to reach a carbon neutral economy by examining the outcome goals of the 26th summit of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26). Methods have been designed for mapping carbon emissions, such as input–output models, spatial systems, geographic information system maps, light detection and ranging techniques, and logarithmic mean divisia. We present decarbonization technologies and initiatives, and negative emissions technologies, and we discuss carbon trading and carbon tax. We propose plans for carbon neutrality such as shifting away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy, and the development of low-carbon technologies, low-carbon agriculture, changing dietary habits and increasing the value of food and agricultural waste. Developing resilient buildings and cities, introducing decentralized energy systems, and the electrification of the transportation sector is also necessary. We also review the life cycle analysis of carbon neutral systems.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This review synthesizes COP26 outcomes, national carbon-neutrality initiatives, emissions-mapping methods, sectoral decarbonization and negative-emissions technologies, and life-cycle analysis. It reports that only 4.5% of 198 countries had achieved carbon neutrality, while most target 2050–2070.

Key findings

  • Of 198 countries, 4.5% had achieved carbon neutrality, 10.6% had declared or committed to it, 8.6% had legislated for it, 29.3% had relevant policies, and 47% were discussing documents; 120 of 198 countries (60.6%) aimed for carbon neutrality by 2050–2070.
  • In China, nearly 80% of CO2 emissions were attributed to electric/thermal energy production and supply, petroleum processing and coking, and metals mining and dressing; Melbourne’s carbon footprint was 25.1 t CO2-eq/capita, with households contributing 64%.
  • Of 885 European city climate action plans assessed in a cited study, only 147 considered both mitigation and adaptation; about 50% addressed both through initial assessments, but only a quarter considered in-depth synergies and co-benefits.
  • In Scotland, a mix of bioenergy carbon capture and storage, soil carbon sequestration, and enhanced weathering could reduce emissions by 8.3–36.8 Mt CO2 and eliminate up to 89.8% of annual emissions; enhanced weathering costs ranged from US$25/t CO2 to US$1600/t CO2, and direct air carbon capture could reach 3 Gt CO2/yr by 2035.

Methods

  • Literature review and narrative synthesis covering COP26 outcome goals, worldwide carbon-neutrality initiatives, carbon-emissions mapping, emissions-reduction technologies, negative emissions, carbon trading and carbon tax, and life-cycle analysis.
  • Uses tabulated evidence: Table 1 compiles initiatives and target status for 198 countries; Table 2 summarizes carbon-emissions mapping methods; Table 3 summarizes life-cycle analysis studies across sectors and countries.
  • No formal meta-analysis, systematic search protocol, or primary quantitative modeling is reported; the main analysis is descriptive and tabular synthesis of cited studies.

Limitations

  • Stated: negative emissions technologies are not yet ready for widespread use due to uncertainty about technologies, pricing, and environmental implications; pure life-cycle assessments have not yet fully integrated a life-cycle perspective into organizational and decision-making environments; achieving net-zero carbon emissions is challenging.
  • Stated: synergies between adaptation and mitigation are lagging; only a quarter of European climate action plans included in-depth analysis of mitigation–adaptation synergies, and Cameroon’s climate initiatives focused on mitigation rather than adaptation.
  • Evident from the text: as a narrative review, it does not report systematic search, inclusion/exclusion criteria, or quality appraisal; many country statuses in Table 1 are self-declared or marked N/A, limiting independent verification.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s10311-022-01435-8

Cites

101 of 101 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

Fig. 1 The main outcomes of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties. Figure 1 illustrates the four main outcome goals of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties: secure global net-zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 °C within reach, adapt to protect communities and natural habitats, mobilize finance, and work together to deliver. These four outcome goals focus on coal, electric vehicles, cash, and trees
Fig. 1 The main outcomes of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties. Figure 1 illustrates the four main outcome goals of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties: secure global net-zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 °C within reach, adapt to protect communities and natural habitats, mobilize finance, and work together to deliver. These four outcome goals focus on coal, electric vehicles, cash, and treesCC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 2 A summary of how interrelationships and synergies between mitigation and adaptation strategies co-benefit each other. For example, the usage of solar power for electricity or heating lowers carbon emissions as solar power is a renewable energy source hence mitigating climate change. Additionally, the usage of solar power adapts to climate change as solar power is resilient to climate change problems like storms and high temperatures, unlike the centralized grid systems that are vulnerable. The authors recommend that new carbon neutrality policies focus on mitigation and adaptation together rather than mitigation alone
Fig. 2 A summary of how interrelationships and synergies between mitigation and adaptation strategies co-benefit each other. For example, the usage of solar power for electricity or heating lowers carbon emissions as solar power is a renewable energy source hence mitigating climate change. Additionally, the usage of solar power adapts to climate change as solar power is resilient to climate change problems like storms and high temperatures, unlike the centralized grid systems that are vulnerable. The authors recommend that new carbon neutrality policies focus on mitigation and adaptation together rather than mitigation aloneCC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 3 Carbon emissions are classified into three main categories, including direct, indirect and indirect value-chain emissions. Direct emissions are generated by mobile and stationary sources of direct fuel combustion. Indirect emissions are a result of the consumption of electricity or heat. Indirect value-chain emissions include those associated with the processing of products and waste management, among others
Fig. 3 Carbon emissions are classified into three main categories, including direct, indirect and indirect value-chain emissions. Direct emissions are generated by mobile and stationary sources of direct fuel combustion. Indirect emissions are a result of the consumption of electricity or heat. Indirect value-chain emissions include those associated with the processing of products and waste management, among othersCC BY · PubMed Central

Verification

Claims the paper makes

130 Not checked yet · 55 Own interpretation · 20 No basis given · 12 Own result · 1 Supported

Verify all 137 references — free account

Show all 95 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 69
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 80
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
123 of 123
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Only 4.5% of countries have achieved carbon neutrality, and most countries are still planning to do so by 2050–2070.

    “Only 4.5% of countries have achieved carbon neutrality, and most countries are still planning to do so by 2050–2070.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Synergies between different countries have hampered synergies between adaptation and mitigation policies, as well as their co-benefits.

    “Moreover, synergies between different countries have hampered synergies between adaptation and mitigation policies, as well as their co-benefits.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Carbon neutrality is primarily motivated by environmental concerns and offers no immediate financial benefits to individuals or corporations.

    “On the other hand, the shift to carbon neutrality cannot occur spontaneously because carbon neutrality is primarily motivated by environmental concerns and offers no immediate financial benefits to individuals or corporations.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Carbon neutrality cannot be achieved solely through carbon emissions reduction.

    “Carbon neutrality cannot be achieved solely through carbon emissions reduction; therefore, negative emissions technologies are required to attain a carbon-free world.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Extreme weather frequently results in house collapses, human casualties, and crop failures, resulting in habitat destruction, loss of loved ones, and food scarcity, severely affecting the existing social order.

    “Extreme weather frequently results in house collapses, human casualties, and crop failures, resulting in habitat destruction, loss of loved ones, and food scarcity, severely affecting the existing social order.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The vast number of trees that are felled would dramatically reduce forest cover, and many wild creatures will lose habitat, expediting species extinction and severely damaging the biological chain.

    “Additionally, the vast number of trees that felled would dramatically reduce forest cover, and many wild creatures will lose habitat, expediting species extinction and severely damaging the biological chain.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The collapse of the biological chain will destroy the ecosystem, eventually resulting in human beings becoming unable to survive and the destabilization of society.

    “The collapse of the biological chain will destroy the ecosystem, eventually resulting in human beings becoming unable to survive and the destabilization of society.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Rising sea levels will result in the global inundation of some island countries and coastal towns, resulting in enormous human migration and potentially wars, threatening global social stability.

    “Additionally, rising sea levels will result in the global inundation of some island countries and coastal towns, resulting in enormous human migration and potentially wars, threatening global social stability.”
8 of 8

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Show all 100 references

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Paris Agreement (2015) Report of the conference of the parties to the united nations framework convention on climate change. https://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf. Accessed 10 Feb 2022
  2. Masson-Delmotte V, Zhai P, Pörtner H, Roberts D et al (2018) Summary for policymakers. https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/. Accessed 6 Feb 2022
  3. Mihut L, Odagiu A, Mihut S (2019) The use of the LiDAR technology in calculation of the ecosystems carbon footprint. Res J Agricultural Sci 51:239–246
  4. United Nations (2015) Report of the conference of the Parties on its twenty-first session. https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/10.pdf. Accessed 10 Feb 2022

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 901–1,000 of 1,000

Metadata

Authors
Chen, L., Msigwa, G., Yang, M., Osman, A. I., Fawzy, S., Rooney, D. W., & Yap, P.-S.
Affiliations
  • Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (CN)
  • Queen's University Belfast (GB)
Corresponding author
  • Osman, Ahmed I.
  • Yap, Pow-Seng
Venue
Environmental Chemistry Letters
Published
2022-04-08
Volume
20
Issue
4
Pages
2277-2310
ISSN
  • 1610-3653 (ISSN-L)
  • 1610-3661
OpenAlex
W4224213039
Cited by
1,326
References
100
Citations by year
2026: 254 · 2025: 361 · 2024: 401 · 2023: 253 · 2022: 56
FWCI
49.44
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environmental Chemistry Letters (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
SEUPB (Bryden Centre project (Project ID VA5048))
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Climate Change Policy and Economics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate Change and Sustainable Development
Keywords
carbon neutrality, net-zero carbon emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonization technologies, negative emissions technologies, emissions trading, carbon tax, renewable energy transition, low-carbon agriculture, dietary change, distributed energy systems, electric mobility, life cycle assessment, COP26

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-10, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-10 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review