In the context of climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the goal of achieving a global balance between the volumes of GHGs produced and the GHGs removed from the atmosphere to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement to:

Net zero may be achieved by, among other things:

The concept of net zero is often conflated with carbon neutrality and these terms are often used interchangeably. But some commentators differentiate these terms owing to their different approaches on issues such as the emissions that the targets cover, the ambition of the targets as regards the level of global warming that should be permitted, and when carbon offsets are permitted.

As part of President Biden's Leaders' Summit on Climate that was held in April 2021, the Department of Energy (DOE), along with other governments, announced six new initiatives that will:

These efforts are intended to meet the Biden Administration's ambitious domestic goals of 100% clean electricity by 2035 and net zero carbon emissions by 2050, while creating millions of good-paying jobs across the nation. For more information on these goals and the initiatives and policies that have been proposed or implemented to achieve them, see Practice Notes, Biden Administration Energy and Climate Change Policies and Regulations: 2022 Tracker and Biden Administration Energy and Climate Change Policies and Regulations: 2021 Tracker.

One of the six initiatives that were announced is the formation of the Net Zero Producers Forum (NPF), a cooperative forum consisting of the DOE and energy ministries from Canada, Norway, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which collectively represent 40% of global oil and gas production. The NPF will create pragmatic net zero strategies, including: