I do not understand the concept that a property of a sum of a bunch of numbers somehow applies to those components.
Whether something is net zero depends on what you are adding it to; it's not inherent in that thing.
It's like, if you have a pile of blue things, then the pile is also blue. But other characteristics do not work that way. If you have a pile of things that each weigh 1 lb, then the pile does not weigh 1 lb.
If you make a hydrocarbon by taking CO2 from the air, and you use a carbon free energy source to do it, then burning that hydrocarbon is net zero carbon. That is, if all your hydrocarbons that you burn were made this way, then the atmospheric carbon doesn't increase because of your activity.
Exactly. It's not a solution, but it's a way to stop the problem from getting worse.
It's like moving from a variable rate credit card to a 0% loan. You still have this pile of debt you need to deal with, but you more or less stop the problem from getting any worse.
It’s actually strange that no gas company is advertising something like this. I’ve seen so many industries advertise even the tiniest carbon offsets but why can’t BP or Exxon sell a net zero or at least low emissions fuel
It is really strange to you that oil company is not advertising a product that they don't have, a product which would compete with their regular product, a product which is hard to sell (more expensive and dubious value)? From the standpoint of these companies, there is plenty of oil down there, making synthetic one has no upside.
Well, maybe not synthetic, but what if they said "use this gas for 10% more, we planted a tree for every gallon" or whatever. Even if it was complete bs, I'd think about it
I would much rather to pay more for net zero carbon fuel, then not do anything.