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A government plan to tackle climate change has been criticised by environmental groups.

The plan involves achieving something called 'net zero' which is when a country balances the amount of climate changing gasses that are pumped into the air with the amount that's taken out - so overall, the total is zero.

A big part of the plans involve storing carbon dioxide (CO2) - which is a greenhouse gas - under the North Sea.

The new plans had to be drawn up after the High Court said the government's previous strategy would not do enough to meet the UK's climate targets.

However, some experts say the new plans are still not enough to make a difference.

Unsure about climate change, and what the words mean? Check out our Newsround guide further down the page.

Dr Chris Jones, an expert in climate change at the University of Manchester, said: "This latest government energy strategy is a weak response."

Meanwhile campaign group, Friends of the Earth - who forced the government to rethink its strategy in the High Court - said the policies are "lacking on climate action" and would try and the force the government back to court to make more adjustments, if they needed to.

However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said people should be "really proud of the UK's track record" on reducing carbon from the atmosphere.

What is net zero, and how does it work?

Greenhouse gasses, like carbon dioxide (CO2), trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, and warm up the planet, which causes climate change.

Net zero can be achieved by either not producing more greenhouse gasses, or by extracting any gasses that are release. This can be done through techniques like planting trees which take in carbon dioxide (CO2) and release oxygen.

Another way to do this is through something called carbon capture, which is part of the government's net zero plans.

What is carbon capture?

One of the key parts of the government's new strategy is the UK's first carbon capture sites planned for Teesside in the north east of England.

These sites take carbon dioxide gas (CO2) produced during the burning of fossil fuels.

It then transports the gas via pipelines or ships to a new safe place to keep it, in this case deep caverns under the North Sea.

The carbon dioxide doesn't just disappear - it still has to be stored somewhere else, such as deep underground.

Although carbon capture has been recommended as a way to remove CO2 already in the atmosphere, some experts are concerned it could allow the UK to keep using oil and gas rather than focusing on more environmentally friendly renewable energy.

What does the government hope to achieve?

The UK want to get to net zero by 2050. This promise was signed with other countries at the 2015 Paris climate agreement, where leaders came together to create a climate change action plan.

It also says that the plan should reduce people's expensive energy bills in the future, but ministers have admitted that this might not happen for a while.