Carbon neutral
A state in which the CO₂ emissions attributed to a person, organisation, product or activity are balanced by CO₂ removals over a stated period.
Example
A venue might call a concert carbon neutral after estimating its emissions and retiring credits for the total.
The catch
Under Directive (EU) 2024/825, a product claim of neutral emissions impact cannot rest on offsetting.
In more depth
Carbon neutral, explained.
Carbon neutral has two meanings, and most confusion comes from mixing them. In the IPCC's usage it covers CO₂ alone and requires a balance with removals, so emissions released are matched by CO₂ taken back out of the atmosphere. In marketing it has usually meant something looser, with all greenhouse gases counted and the balance struck through carbon offsetting, often with credits for reductions that remove nothing.
The gap is more than semantic. A credit for a reduction elsewhere leaves the claimant's own emissions in the atmosphere and adds no removal to balance them, so the claim describes a payment more than a physical state. Whether even that payment holds up depends on the quality of the credits, on the boundary drawn around the footprint and on whether the periods match. A product footprint that stops at the factory gate, for instance, leaves out use and disposal.
Carbon neutral also differs from neighbouring terms. Climate neutral counts every greenhouse gas and other effects on the climate, and net zero describes a target in which deep cuts come first and removals balance only what remains. When you meet the label, ask what boundary and period it covers, and how much of the balance comes from cutting emissions and how much from credits.
In the journal