Why Net-Zero Emissions by 2050?
According to the EPA, “Climate change involves significant changes in average conditions—such as temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and other aspects of climate—that occur over years, decades, centuries, or longer. Climate change involves longer-term trends, such as shifts toward warmer, wetter, or drier conditions. These trends can be caused by natural variability in climate over time, as well as human activities that add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere like burning fossil fuels for energy.”
Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) for our electricity, transportation, etc. warms our planet, which is also known as the greenhouse effect. But you don’t have to be a climate scientist to understand that our planet is already suffering from the effects of climate change. We are witnessing the effects of climate change play out in real-time: Sea level rise in Charleston, SC; more frequent and intense hurricanes on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts; Hoot Owl Restrictions in Montana; and increased drought and wildfires across the American West.
That’s why the #1 goal of the Fly Fishing Climate Alliance is to reduce our member’s carbon footprint. Why? Because climate change is the greatest threat to our planet, human wellbeing and the fish we love to chase with a long rod. Additionally, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel in Climate Change (IPCC), we must halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and be Net-Zero emissions by 2050 to avoid catastrophic effects of climate change.
Fly Fishing Climate Alliance members are pledging to achieve Net-Zero emissions by 2050 to protect what we love. We are an alliance of guides, shops, lodges, brands and nonprofits who believe it is our responsibility to be part of the solution so that we can save the planet, the fish & our businesses.
Our Process
To align with the IPCC’s 1.5⁰C climate ambition and limit the impact of climate change, the world needs to reduce net annual greenhouse emissions by at least 40 gigatonnes by mid-century. But you can’t manage what you don’t measure, so following the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting Standard, our members account for their Scope 1, 2 & 3 greenhouse gas emissions:
Scope 1 emissions: direct GHG emissions from such company-owned sources as vehicles, boilers and furnaces, and production machinery.
Scope 2 emissions: accounts for emissions from electricity a company purchases from external sources and consumes.
Scope 3 emissions: accounts for other indirect emissions up and down throughout a company’s value chain resulting from such activities as resource extraction, transportation of fuels, and the use of its products and services.
Below are the steps our members take when committing to Net-Zero emissions by 2050:
1) Define boundaries and measure Scope 1, 2 & 3 greenhouse emissions.
2) Set science-based targets and develop GHG emissions reduction plans.
3) Rapidly reduce GHG emissions according to GHG emissions reduction plan.
4) Invest in nature for unavoidable emissions with the purchase of credible carbon offsets.
5) Communicate their results via a Carbon Footprint Report.
What is Net-Zero?
Net-Zero emissions means that we must remove the same amount of GHG emissions as we release into it, but prioritizes GHG emissions reductions over purchasing carbon offsets.
More specifically, Net-Zero emissions means:
1) 50% GHG emissions reduction by 2030;
2) 90% GHG emissions reduction by 2050;
3) 10% unavoidable GHG emissions removed as a type of offset.
What is Carbon Neutrality?
Carbon neutral means that we must remove the same amount of GHG emissions as we release into it, but with a heavy reliance on purchasing carbon offsets to achieve carbon neutrality.
Many of our members have already achieved carbon neutrality, which means they have:
1) Measured their scope 1, 2, 3 GHG emissions;
2) Made plans to reduce their emissions;
3) and Purchased credible carbon offsets for their Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions to achieve carbon neutrality .