Chapter 01 · Climate & transitionClimate & Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Carbon negative
Definition
A state in which an entity's removals of CO₂ from the atmosphere exceed its emissions over a defined period — going beyond carbon neutrality (balancing emissions with removals/offsets) to achieve a net withdrawal. The term came to prominence with Microsoft's 2020 pledge to be carbon negative by 2030 across Scopes 1–3 and to remove its historical emissions by 2050.
References
Definition via flagship pledge (carbon negative by 2030, all scopes; historical removal by 2050).
Hierarchy net zero / carbon neutral / carbon negative; removals-exceed-emissions criterion.
Overview
What it means
Unlike carbon neutrality — governed by ISO 14068-1 — and net zero — governed by frameworks such as SBTi's — carbon negative has no governing standard, so the claim's credibility depends entirely on disclosed methodology: boundary (which scopes), removal quality (durable removals vs avoidance credits) and verification.
"Climate positive" is widely treated as interchangeable, though some frameworks reserve it for broader multi-pollutant impact; conversely "carbon positive" is confusingly used in opposite senses (net emitter vs net remover) and is best avoided. Green-claims regulation increasingly subjects such terminology to substantiation duties.
How it is used
Companies adopt carbon-negative/climate-positive targets as ambition signals beyond net zero; practitioners assess them against Oxford Offsetting Principles-style portfolios weighted toward durable removals.
Why it matters
As net zero becomes the baseline expectation, "beyond neutral" claims define the frontier of corporate climate ambition — and, unstandardised, a frontier of greenwashing risk. **Note on differing definitions or controversy:** No governing standard exists; equivalence with "climate positive" varies by framework, and claim substantiation requirements are tightening.