Climate neutral
A state in which human activities have no net effect on the climate system, counting all greenhouse gases and land-surface effects such as albedo.
Example
The European Climate Law commits the EU to climate neutrality by 2050.
The catch
Companies use the phrase loosely, so check which gases, boundaries and credits sit behind any claim.
In more depth
Climate neutral, explained.
Climate neutral sets a higher bar than carbon neutral because it counts every greenhouse gas and other human effects on the climate, such as changes in how much sunlight land reflects. At global scale it implies net zero greenhouse gases with those extra effects accounted for. The IPCC notes that reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions implies net-negative CO₂, since some methane and nitrous oxide from farming will persist and need balancing.
EU law uses a narrower version. The European Climate Law defines climate neutrality as a balance between the greenhouse gas emissions and removals regulated within the Union, which places it closer to a net zero target than to the IPCC's fuller concept. Keep the two apart when a government target and a scientific definition are quoted side by side.
In marketing, the phrase was a favourite for products balanced with credits. Directive (EU) 2024/825 now bars claims that a product has a neutral impact on emissions where the claim rests on offsetting, and its recitals name 'climate neutral' as an example of the wording concerned. A company that wants to describe its funding of projects elsewhere can use a contribution claim, worded so it does not imply the product itself has no climate effect.
In the journal