The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is urging South Africa to take proactive steps to begin integrating the concept of carbon neutrality into its revised industrial strategy, warning that a delay in doing so could undermine the future competitiveness of the country’s exports. The UK and France recently made firm commitments for transitioning to ‘net zero carbon’ economies by 2050, while several of South Africa’s other key trading partners are expected to make similar commitments in future. Net zero carbon is when the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released by a country on a yearly basis is zero or negative.