An economic perspective on the notion of “Carbon neutrality”

Balancing long-term economic growth and carbon neutrality has become a major global challenge. Stepping up the efforts to realize net zero emission and carbon neutrality will eliminate greenhouse emissions and reduce long term economic losses. Therefore, exploring the pathways to zero-carbon economies is important. Both developed and developing countries looking to spur economic growth and reduce poverty are now more under pressure, than ever before, to factor in carbon neutrality targets in their future development strategies. This chapter provides new theoretical insights on the balancing of environmental sustainability and economic growth. The chapter also discusses the various challenges to carbon neutrality and explores various pathways and practices through which societies can balance carbon neutrality targets and economic growth.