Net zero is a target state in which the greenhouse-gas emissions a system produces are balanced by the amount it removes or offsets. In energy and infrastructure planning, it is a shorthand for cutting emissions as much as possible and then dealing with the remainder through removal, storage, or credible offsets.
In cyber security, net zero matters because the systems used to reach it are highly digital: smart grids, industrial controllers, cloud analytics, EV charging, and remote monitoring all expand the attack surface. A compromise can disrupt clean-energy operations, distort sensor data, or increase blackout risk. Defenders therefore pair emissions goals with resilience measures such as network segmentation, strong authentication, backups, redundancy, and secure-by-design OT. In practice, net zero is not only an environmental target; it is also an infrastructure-security problem.