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Carbon Capture and Storage is being actively developed for deployment in fossil fuel power stations in an attempt to reduce future emissions of CO2 due to concerns about climate change. The deployment of this technology will cause an inevitable reduction in the overall efficiency of any electricity generation plant leading to an increase in demand for the fossil fuels used to power the generation process. This paper estimates the average reduction in generation efficiency caused by the imposition of Carbon Capture and Storage and considers its effects upon the depletion rate of global coal reserves. Future production of coal is modelled using a symmetrical production curve. The results suggest that the widespread adoption of Carbon Capture and Storage may result in the exhaustion of coal reserves several decades in advance of when this may happen if CCS is not deployed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon emission trading market (carbon market) is an important policy tool for China to achieve the goal of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" through market mechanism. This paper uses panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2019 to examine the emission reduction effect (ERE) of China's carbon market pilots using multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID)method, and then analyzes the factors influencing ERE and the economic impact of carbon market. According to the Bacon decomposition and a series of robustness tests, the results reveal that China's carbon market pilots have significant ERE. Both the expansion of the carbon market scale and the improvement of market activity level can significantly boost the carbon market's ERE. Meanwhile, the establishment of carbon market has no negative impact on the economic growth. Therefore, we propose to accelerate the construction of the national carbon market, incorporating more industries in a systematic manner, expand the scale of the carbon market, steadily promote the innovation of carbon financial instruments, improve the activity of the carbon market, so as to promote the transformation of China's green and low-carbon economy and achieve the emission reduction target as scheduled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roles digital media-technologies play in raising public issues relating to emerging technologies and their potential for engaging publics with science and policy assessments is a lively field of inquiry in Science and Technology Studies (STS). This paper presents an analysis of controversies over proposals for the large-scale removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CDR). The study combines a digital method (web-querying) with document analysis to map debates about two CDR approaches: bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and afforestation. In the first step, we locate actors using the web to engage with BECCS and afforestation and map their alignments in relation to competing framings of CDR. In a second step, we examine the devices deployed by UK-based actors to evidence and contest the feasibility of BECCS and afforestation. Our analysis shows that policy distinctions between "natural" and "engineered" CDR are used flexibly in practice and do not map neatly onto actor engagement with BECCS and afforestation. We highlight the predominance of cross-cutting techno-economic expertise and argue that framings of CDR as a solution to governing climate change may contribute to public disengagement from climate policy processes. The paper reflects on methods for studying controversies, publics, and issues emerging around processes of technoscientific assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past century, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) has significantly increased in our atmosphere, creating numerous catastrophic effects and environmental impacts. There are three main CO2 capture methods: (a) post-combustion, (b) pre-combustion, and (c) oxy-fuel combustion implemented to capture CO2 from significant CO2 emitting sources. Further, the captured CO2 is utilized to convert it into value-added products. The current status of potential combined CO2 capture and CO2 utilization methods provide the solution to the issues of greenhouse-gas CO2 emissions from anthropogenic activities and the ever-growing energy demand challenges. These unique approaches dramatically reduce the overall energy penalty, cost-effective, and have a low environmental impact. As of now, carbon management is more intensively shifting toward the carbon utilization for minimizing energy consumption and replacing fossil fuel with the cleaner energy sources. This paper presents an idea of co-integration pathways for CO2 capture and CO2 utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the case building's cooling effect, energy saving, and carbon sequestration with green facade and green roof. The west and east GF is covered with wisteria, and the GR is planted with different kinds of vegetables. The cooling effect of the GF and GR is analyzed by field test. The cooling energy saving of the GF and GR is deeply discussed with EnergyPlus software simulation. Carbon sequestrations of the GF and GR are calculated considering both plant photosynthetic and energy saving with the field test and simulation. The results show that the average external surface temperature reduction of the west GF, east GF, and GR is 4.5°C, 4.2°C, and 9.7°C on sunny days, 1.3°C, 1.3°C, and 1.4°C respectively on cloudy days. The total cooling energy saving of the GF and GR is 4.75 kWh/m2. The cooling energy saving of the GR with seven kinds of vegetables varies from 529.6 to 2936.3 kWh, which is related to the LAI and height of vegetables. The daily cooling energy saving in hot sunny weather scenario is almost three times that in cool sunny. The carbon sequestration ability per planted GF area is 1.4 kg C/m2, and per planted GR area with seven different vegetables varies from 0.88 to 2.21 kg C/m2, in which the strongest is peanut, and the weakest is lettuce. At last, the cooling energy savings of GF in different orientations on hot, warm, and cool sunny days are discussed, which is shown that the cooling energy saving effect of the different oriented GF mainly depends on the received solar radiation amount in this orientation. The results of this research can provide some assistance in improving the design of the building GR and GF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of urban regions in action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has become increasingly central to global urban governance over the past 20 years and particularly after new promises and agreements made at COP21. Despite some attention across urban studies, the need to interrogate how new forms of urban carbon governance are transforming infrastructure space remains pressing. This paper examines the low-carbon restructuring of the waste system in Mbale, Uganda, a town struggling to address its socio-ecological futures. The paper asserts that a UPE approach to how urban carbon governance is materialised advances three particular concerns; the governing of urban circulation, carbon capital and socio-material relations. Through examining these, the paper shows how global actors are increasingly involved in low-carbon transformation, use places such as Mbale as spaces of experimentation and dominate the governing of this restructuring. Yet out of such unjust processes new forms of contestation and low-carbon politics may emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of an EU emission trading scheme (EU ETS) on CO2 abatement technology development is limited, according to many empirical studies. This is the result of an existing low carbon price and the future uncertainty of the development of the carbon market. Carbon price stabilisation mechanisms, especially the carbon price floor, may serve to supplement the ETS and cope with this problem. We are concerned with how the carbon price floor affects the investment in carbon abatement technology, the resulting CO2 abatement, and how to best design such a carbon floor price. In this paper, we focus on carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology by building a CCS investment and operation decision model based on real options theory. We consider investment timing and CCS operation flexibility and we also design a model for carbon price evolution with a carbon price floor using the Monte Carlo simulation method. We determine the floor prices above which immediate CCS investment is occuring, and those at which CO2 emissions can be eliminated. According to the simulation results, the carbon price floor has a significant effect on promoting CCS investment. The marginal effect of an increasing carbon price floor first rises and then falls; when the floor price reaches a threshold value, its marginal effect becomes minimal. Based on the simulation results, the carbon floor price for EU ETS could be set at about 20 EUR/t CO2 to stimulate the CCS investment, while it should be increased to 30 EUR/t CO2 to sufficiently promote CO2 abatement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes two experimental facilities developed to carry out research and development of measurement instruments used in the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) industry. The gaseous and static facilities are capable of testing measurement devices such as flowmeters, densitometers and sampling systems. Testing these instruments in the compositions and conditions likely to be experienced in the industry is essential to ensure that they are capable of achieving the required levels of uncertainty specified by the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The paper will describe the design of these facilities and give a summary of initial tests which have been carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how theories and epistemological understandings from the disciplines of human geography and environmental ethics may be usefully deployed to further understanding of public perceptions of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). In particular, the themes of values, place and embodied experience are explored in turn. The aim of doing this is to consider how reflection on some of the 'deeper' issues underpinning CCS projects has the potential to shed new light on how people come to hold particular viewpoints. This paper argues that alongside the endeavour of producing very practical advice and guidelines on public engagement in CCS, there is room to reflect critically on the contexts in which people form their perceptions of CCS and perform these perceptions. Doing this has the potential to offer new insights into what exactly it is publics may find troubling - or, indeed, appealing - about CCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a review of the current state of the Carbon Capture, Transport and Storage (CCTS) technology, this paper analyzes the layout and costs of a potential CO2 infrastructure in Europe at the horizon of 2050. We apply the mixedinteger model CCTS-Mod to compute a CCTS infrastructure network for Europe, examining the effects of different CO2 price paths with different regional foci. Scenarios assuming low CO2 certificate prices lead to hardly any CCTS development in Europe. The iron and steel sector starts deployment once the CO2 certificate prices exceed 50 €/tCO2. The cement sector starts investing at a threshold of 75 €/tCO2, followed by the electricity sector when prices exceed 100 €/tCO2. The degree of CCTS deployment is found to be more sensitive to variable costs of CO2 capture than to investment costs. Additional revenues generated from utilizing CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (CO2 -EOR) in the North Sea would lead to an earlier adoption of CCTS, independent of the CO2 certificate price; this case may become especially relevant for the UK, Norway and the Netherlands. However, scattered CCTS deployment increases unit cost of transport and storage infrastructure by 30% or more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy from biomass is potentially an important contributor to U.S. climate change mitigation efforts. However, large-scale implementation of bioenergy competes with other uses of land, including agriculture and forest production and terrestrial carbon storage in non-commercial lands. And with trade, bioenergy could mean greater reliance on imported energy. Based on EMF-24 policy specifications, this paper explores these dimensions of bioenergy's role in U.S. climate policy and the relationship to alternative measures for ameliorating the trade and land use consequences. It shows how widespread use of biomass in the U.S. could lead to imports; and it highlights that the relative stringency of domestic and international carbon mitigation policy will heavily influence the amount of imports. It demonstrates that limiting biomass imports could alter the balance of trade in other agricultural products. Finally, it shows that increasing efforts to protect both U.S. and international forests could also affect the balance of trade in other agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific evidence indicates that greenhouse gases emissions related to human activity are a significant contributor to global climate change. This paper investigates the impact of policy prescriptions and technologies for reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis uses NERA's NewERA integrated model, which combines a top-down general equilibrium macro model of the U.S. economy with a detailed bottom-up model of the North American electricity sector. It examines the cost of cutting emissions by 0% to 80% of 2005 levels by 2050 under several scenarios, which consider different assumptions about policy choices ranging from purely market-based policy such as a cap-and-trade program to purely command-and-control policies and technology involving availability and efficacy of nuclear, Carbon Capture and Storage, renewables, and end-use efficiency technology. Our analysis shows a distinct efficiency advantage for market-based mechanisms and interaction of command-and-control mandates with market-based policies increase market distortions leading to higher welfare loss. We show that under such a mixed policy regime, carbon price is an unsuitable indicator of economic costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent climate regulations include increased utilization of natural gas-fired combined cycle (NGCC) generators as a means for offsetting coal generation to reduce carbon emissions. There have been substantial increases in utilization for some generators, but most remain below baseload levels. This paper examines the factors that have driven NGCC utilization from 2003-2014. I run difference-in-difference models to evaluate the relationships between environmental policies and natural gas prices on NGCC utilization. Both low natural gas prices and the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) drive increases in utilization. However, the size of the impact by CAIR depends on the age of the plant. I use the estimates from this model for a counterfactual analysis which reveals CAIR had nearly twice the impact of low natural gas prices on increased utilization in nationwide averages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What will the low-carbon cities of tomorrow be made from? We see an unexpected answer today in the return of 'premodern'/'preindustrial' materials to central cities and skylines. Champions of new mass timber materials have driven a race on iconic 'plyscrapers' and, increasingly, novel systems of industrial prefabrication. Drawing on the notion of sociotechnical imaginaries, we explore how advocates attempt to 'fix' desirable future cities and urban bioeconomies through this biomaterial. In doing so, we suggest that mass timber's emergent sociotechnical imaginary embodies a distinct kind of futuring, which we label 'nostalgic futurism', conjoining 'technofuturist' and 'nostalgic-reparative' visions. We find that, on the one hand, mass timber proponents embrace competitive novelty, uniting drives for architectural distinction and high-tech disruption. On the other hand, aesthetic advocates put forward visions around the material's more traditional premodern/preindustrial associations, in narratives of biophilic design which claim therapeutic benefits of contact with visible nature in buildings. These conjoined forward- and backward-looking compulsions pose tensions and internal contradictions. Nostalgic-reparative visions risk greenwashing and reproducing unequal access to environmental amenities, while reinscribing regressive appeals to an imagined past. Meanwhile, technofuturist drives extend late capitalist growth imperatives and pressures for accelerated material churn in both forests and urban centres—while obscuring tough questions about mass timber buildings' expected lifetimes and claims for long-term carbon sequestration. Conversely, a reimagined mass timber project might support more progressive movements for climate restoration, repair, and reparations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to limit global mean temperature increase to less than 2°C, long-term greenhouse gas concentrations must remain low. This paper discusses how such low concentrations can be reached, based on results from the IMAGE modelling framework (including TIMER and FAIR). We show that the attainability of low greenhouse gas concentration targets, in particular 450 and 400 ppm CO2 equivalent critically depends on model assumptions, such as bio-energy potentials. Under standard model assumptions, these targets can be reached, although the lowest requires the use of bio-energy in combination with carbon-capture-and-storage. Regions are affected differently by ambitious climate policies in terms of energy and land use, although stringent emission reductions will be required in all regions. Resulting co-benefits of climate policy (such as energy security and air pollution) are also different across world regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential role of carbon sequestration in forests under a range of exogenously chosen carbon price paths. The price paths were chosen to simulate several different climate change policies. The results indicate that global sequestration could range from 48-147 Pg C by 2105 for carbon prices ranging from $100 to more than $800 per t C by the end of the century. The timing of sequestration is found to be sensitive to the assumed carbon price path. Low initial carbon prices ($10 - $20 per t C in 2010) followed by rapid price increases, as might occur if policy makers try to stabilize future concentrations, suggest little, if any, sequestration during the next 20 years (-0.2 to 4.5 Pg C). If policy makers develop policies that support higher initial carbon prices, ranging from $75 to $100 per t C, 17 to 23 Pg C could be sequestered in forests over the next 20 years. Overall, our results indicate that forestry is not an efficient stopgap measure for long-term policy goals, but that it is instead an important long-term partner with other mitigation options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities coupled to coal-fired power plants provide a climate change mitigation strategy that potentially permits the continued use of coal whilst reducing the carbon dioxide emissions. However, the still-high cost of CCS is one of the major obstacles, especially for developing countries. In this paper, we will assess techno-economic aspect of various carbon capture and storage technology in coal-fired power plants, including pre-combustion capture, post-combustion capture, oxy-combustion capture, as well as carbon storage. For various coal-fired power plants, integrated gasification combined cycle with precombustion capture has the highest potential to capture carbon dioxide with the lowest energy penalties and capital & operational costs, post-combustion capture can be retrofitted at relatively low cost to existing pulverized coal power plants and allows the combustion process to be kept relatively unchanged, and oxycombustion capture is relatively immature at present. Although CCS has been accepted as clean development mechanism (CDM) project activities under the Kyoto Protocol, current carbon trading mechanism is inadequate to strongly promote investments on CCS facilities coupled to coal-fired power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an urgent need to regenerate agriculture to increase productivity, support economic development and address concerns regarding food security. The fundamental question is whether the more efficient use of natural resources can help to reduce malnutrition and food insecurity while providing adequate food supplies to feed a burgeoning population in an environmentally sustainable way. In this paper, three pathivays are considered: expanding existing arable land to include crop-animal systems; intensifying existing land use; and expanding production in less favoured areas (LFAs). Silvo-pastoral systems, common in rainfed areas, are often underestimated with regard to their capacity for carbon sequestration, value addition and increased productivity. Animals can also support improved livelihoods and can be used as an entry point for the development of LFAs. However, the varied and complex issues related to such development require an interdisciplinary approach that addresses demographics, socioeconomics, resource allocation, value chains, trade and marketing. Combined with effective development policy, the goals of sustainable food production and environmental protection are achievable. This paper reviews the issues and sets out options for improving the management of natural resources to support agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the development of more advanced capture and storage technologies continues along with gradual scale-up of demonstration projects, the imminent deployment of commercial-scale carbon capture and storage is becoming increasingly likely. The transport stage needs to undergo similar development as there is much that needs to be better understood. In particular, there is a need for an equation of state which can accurately describe the physical behaviour of mixtures of carbon dioxide with impurities during the transport stage of carbon capture and storage in a simple, effective way. Presented here is the early development of a new, analytic equation of state, specifically designed to be highly accurate within the window 0 to 30.9782 ℃ and up to 150 bar (the anticipated usual region of operation for carbon capture and storage pipelines). In this paper, the potential of the proposed equation of state is demonstrated with descriptions for the pressure (from which density can be directly calculated) and phase behaviour of pure CO2. Comparisons with the Peng–Robinson equation of state are made in order to demonstrate the potential of the model, which has both simplicity similar to that of the Peng–Robinson equation and accuracy similar to that of the Span–Wagner equation. Presently, it is found that inside this window, the maximum percentage error of the new equation in the description of pressure for the case of pure carbon dioxide is not more than approximately 2.53%, compared with 40.85% for the Peng–Robinson equation, whilst for the description of phase behaviour, it is not more than 2.41%, compared with 18.23% for the Peng–Robinson equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the factors involved in public perceptions of CO2 storage projects reveal a level of complexity and diversity that arguably confounds a comprehensive theoretical account. To some extent, a conceptual approach that simply organises the relevant social scientific knowledge thematically, rather than seeking an integrated explanation, is as useful as any single account that fails to do justice to the contingencies involved. This paper reviews and assembles such knowledge in terms of six themes and applies these themes to five European cases of carbon capture and storage (CCS) implementation. We identify the main factors involved in community responses to CCS as relating to: the characteristics of the project; the engagement process; risk perceptions; the actions of the stakeholders; the characteristics of the community, and the socio-political context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, the level of public awareness of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology remains low. The mainstream media have a salient influence in shaping the debate on CCS's implementation and its risks. This paper presents the results of analysis of print media coverage of CCS worldwide between August 2009 and June 2010. A total of 1138 articles from the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum were reviewed and analysed. The majority of these articles were balanced or neutral in tone and lacking in technical detail. Fifteen key themes were identified. Two of these emerged the most frequently across all sources: CCS pilot and demonstration projects, and funding issues. This suggests a pattern of media curiosity over how financial support for CCS is provided and what results are occurring at pilot and demonstration efforts. Cross-regional key risks included: time, cost, and implementation issues; technical validity; and storage capacity issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many geoengineering projects have been proposed to address climate change, including both solar radiation management and carbon removal techniques. Some of these methods would introduce additional compounds into the atmosphere or the ocean. This poses a difficult conundrum: Is it permissible to remediate one pollutant by introducing a second pollutant into a system that has already been damaged, threatened, or altered? We frame this conundrum as the ‘‘Problem of Permissible Pollution.’’ In this paper, we explore this problem by taking up ocean fertilization and advancing an argument that rests on three moral claims. We first observe that pollution is, in many respects, a context-dependent matter. This observation leads us to argue for a ‘‘justifiability criterion.’’ Second, we suggest that remediating actions must take into account the antecedent conditions that have given rise to their consideration. We call this second observation the ‘‘antecedent conditions criterion.’’ Finally, we observe that ocean fertilization, and other related geoengineering technologies, propose not strictly to clean up carbon emissions, but actually to move the universe to some future, unknown state. Given the introduced criteria, we impose a ‘‘future-state constraint’’. We conclude that ocean fertilization is not an acceptable solution for mitigating climate change. In attempting to shift the universe to a future state (a) geoengineering sidelines consideration of the antecedent conditions that have given rise to it —conditions, we note, that in many cases involve unjustified carbon emissions —and (b) it must appeal to an impossibly large set of affected parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates long-term transitions of the global energy system compatible with realizing low stabilization climate targets, using an enhanced MERGE model. The results indicate that stringent mitigation targets can be met under many technology scenarios, but major technological change is needed, highlighting important roles for R&D and learning-by-doing. The analysis explores the impact of limiting the set of available technology options (to account for technical uncertainties and issues of public acceptance) and identifies important influences on energy system development and economic costs under low stabilization. Biomass availability is seen to have a major influence on the characteristics of the energy system. Carbon capture and storage technologies also prove to be potentially critical for both electricity and fuel synthesis, particularly when combined with biomass to produce net negative emissions. Additionally, the availability of fast breeders provides a competitive zero-emissions option. Energy efficiency and large-scale application of renewables are also critical to realising low stabilization scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including clean energy consumption in China, the economic benefits of coal resource distribution, and the role of carbon capture and storage facilities in climate change mitigation.

Concerns about the cost of CO2 capture and sequestration, and the effectiveness of carbon abatement policies loom large in discussions on climate change mitigation. Several writers address the issue from various perspectives. This paper attempts to add relative realism to discussions on CO2 capture costs, and, the deployment of carbon capture technology in the UK by using publicly available company data on the long term capacity expansion and CO2 capture investment programmes of selected power plants in the UK. With an estimated £8 billion plan to install a generation capacity of 11 GW and capture capability of 44 MtCO2/year, it is imperative to optimise this huge potential investment. A least-cost optimisation model was formulated and solved with the LP algorithm available in GAMS. The model was then applied to address a number of issues, including the choice of an optimal carbon abatement policy within the EU-ETS framework. The major findings of the study include (a) the long term total cost curve of CO2 capture has three phases -- rising, plateau, rising; (b) alternative capture technologies do not have permanent relative cost advantages or disadvantages; (c) Government incentives encourage carbon capture and the avoidance of emission penalty charges; and (d) the goals of EU-ETS are more effectively realised with deeper cuts in the EUA ratios titan merely hiking the emission penalty, as proposed in EU-ETS Phase II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the global potential for carbon sequestration in forest plantations, and the reduction of carbon emissions from deforestation, in response to six carbon price scenarios from 2000 to 2100. These carbon price scenarios cover a range typically seen in global integrated assessment models. The world forest sector was disaggregated into ten regions, four largely temperate, developed regions: the European Union, Oceania, Russia, and the United States; and six developing, mostly tropical, regions: Africa, Central America, China, India, Rest of Asia, and South America. Three mitigation options--long- and short-rotation forestry, and the reduction of deforestation--were analyzed using a global dynamic partial equilibrium model (GCOMAP). Key findings of this work are that cumulative carbon gain ranges from 50.9 to 113.2 Gt C by 2100, higher carbon prices early lead to earlier carbon gain and vice versa, and avoided deforestation accounts for 51 to 78% of modeled carbon gains by 2100. The estimated present value of cumulative welfare change in the sector ranges from a decline of $158 billion to a gain of $81 billion by 2100. The decline is associated with a decrease in deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the timing of the use of biological carbon sequestration and its capacity to alleviate the carbon constraint on the energy sector We constructed a stochastic optimal control model balancing the costs of fossil emission abatement, the opportunity costs of lands allocated to afforestation, and the costs of uncertain climate damages. We show that a minor part of the sequestration potential should start immediately as a "brake", slowing down both the rate of growth of concentrations and the rate of abatement in the energy sector, thus increasing the option value of the emission trajectories. But, most of the potential is put in reserve to be used as a "safety valve" after the resolution of uncertainty, if a higher and faster decarbonization is required: sequestration cuts off the peaks of costs of fossil abatement and postpones the pivoting of the energy system by up to two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass can be converted into energy, fuels, and value-added products by adopting proper conversion or production methods. For many years, biomass has been considered to be a good candidate for producing biochar or activated carbon. The awareness created on mitigation of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the major cause of global warming, necessitated developing potential methods and materials for curbing CO2 originating from various sources. Adsorption is the most viable option to mitigate CO2 by using activated carbon which can be derived from various biomass sources. In recent years, activated carbon has been produced from different biomass substances by varying carbonization and activation duration, carbonization and activation temperature, impregnation ratio, and the concentration of the activating agent to improve its surface area and porosity. This review article provides a comprehensive review on utilization, production and characterization of biomass-based activated carbon for CO2 adsorption. Initially, the article discusses the review of research works carried out on utilization of biomass-based activated carbon for CO2 adsorption. Furthermore, the article presents the research works carried out on surface textural characteristics, physicochemical properties, and maximum adsorption capacity of activated carbon obtained from different biomass substances. Finally, the article presents the research works carried out related to the biomass-based activated carbon and the parameters significantly enhancing the CO2 adsorption performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reviews the existing open literature concerned with pipeline steel corrosion in CO2-rich phase with impurities for carbon capture and storage purpose. The intent of this review was to provide information on the corrosion mechanisms, which is crucial for establishing the mechanistic prediction models. The primary focus was placed on key affecting parameters and their corresponding mechanisms, while the corrosion control strategies and research prospects are also discussed. This review covers the effects of: impurities, pressure, temperature, flow, exposure time, product layers, and steel chemistry. The influences of flow dynamics, amines, sulphur, and solids that had received little systematic attention need to be further addressed. Contradictory conclusions regarding the influence of H2O and O2on the corrosion rates should be re-evaluated. The localised corrosion and cathodic reaction mechanisms also require further investigation, especially under synergistic conditions with multiple impurities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research investigating the UK economy impacts of introducing a new Scottish CO2 Transport and Storage (T&S) industry linked to carbon capture and storage (CCS) has focussed on supply chain and funding requirements in introducing such a new sector to service proximate Scottish industrial emissions via onshore pipelines. However, Scottish plans extend to shipping CO2 from outside Scotland for storage in North Sea reservoirs by also servicing sequestration requirements from elsewhere in the UK and/or overseas. This will involve investment in greater industry capacity but could ease associated domestic funding requirements. Here, we introduce improved economy-wide structural (input-output) data reflecting how a Scottish T&S sector may emerge from current Oil and Gas industry supply chain capacity to a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, extending to simulate emergence of an export base. Our central finding is that exploiting overseas T&S export opportunities is crucial where the policy aim is to generate greater economic activity without increasing demands on the public purse. However, any extent of real wage bargaining and consequent producer cost pressure as labour demand increases will act to dampen expansionary power, displacing export production and employment, while driving consumer price impacts that limit real income and public budget gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, an experiment for CO2 capture process were performed by absorption using various aqueous solvent blends of amine and ionic liquids. The solvent blends were prepared for various compositions by mixing TetraButylAmmonium Acetate [TBA][OAC] and TetraButylAmmonium Bromide [TBA][Br] ionic liquids with Monoethanolamine (MEA). The obtained results were compared with baseline MEA. It was observed that capture efficiency of CO2, absorption rate of CO2 and CO2 diffusion coefficient of MEA-[TBA][OAC] and MEA-[TBA][Br] solvent blends were comparatively higher than baseline 30%MEA. Moreover, the parameters such as density, viscosity, pH, carbon loading and surface tension of all the solvent blends were measured for before and after absorption process. The carbon loading of solvent blends MEA-[TBA][Br] (0.405 mole of CO2/mole of solvent) and MEA-[TBA][OAC](0.459 mole of CO2/mole of solvent) was slightly lower than baseline MEA (0.494 mole of CO2/mole of solvent). However, the viscosity of MEA-[TBA][Br] blends were remarkably lower than MEA-[TBA][OAC] blend and baseline MEA. This might be an important key factor in solvent recovery process with lesser energy demand for sustainable energy and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world, owing to industrial expansion, urbanization, the rapid growth of the human population, and the high standard of living, the utilization of the most advanced technologies is unavoidable. The enhanced anthropogenic activities worldwide result in a continuous increase in global warming potential, thereby raising a global concern. The constant rise in global warming potential forces the world to mitigate greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is considered as the primary contributor responsible for global warming and climatic changes. The global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere can eventually deteriorate the environment and endanger the ecosystem. Combating global warming is one of the main challenges in achieving sustainable development. Carbon capture and storage is a potential solution to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions. There are three main methods for carbon capture and storage: post-combustion, pre-combustion, and oxy-fuel combustion. Among them, post-combustion is used in thermal power plants and industrial sectors, all of which contribute a significant amount of carbon dioxide. Different techniques such as physical and chemical absorption, physical and chemical adsorption, membrane separation, and cryogenic distillation used for carbon capture are thoroughly discussed and presented. Currently, there are various materials including absorbents, adsorbents, and membranes used in carbon dioxide capture. Still, there is a search for new and novel materials and processes for separating and capturing carbon dioxide. This review article provides a comprehensive review of different methods, techniques, materials, and processes used for separating and capturing carbon dioxide from significant stationary point sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports published within the issue on topics including the deployment of carbon capture, transport and storage (CCTS), the analysis of combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and dynamic properties in carbon dioxide adsorption.

This essay considers carbon capture and storage (CCS) in relation to struggles over value and territorial jurisdiction in the Alberta Tar Sands. Critical engagements with CCS have pointed to the legitimising function of the technology and highlight its role normalising extraction in the tar sands. We suggest that neither the significance of CCS nor the legitimation function it performs can be fully understood absent an analysis of settler colonialism. CCS we argue is a colonial flanking mechanism directly centred on the governance of harm that construes harm in ways that reproduce settler colonial entitlements to Indigenous lands, bodies and ecosystems and helps to consolidate state jurisdiction and power in the tar sands. This construal of harm also productively intersects other colonial strategies of harm reduction relative to the tar sands, including the criminalisation of Indigenous jurisdiction, and is part of a broader relational context that prioritises settler colonial futurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to IEA (2018), there is a huge gap between the first-best social optimal utilization of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies to lower global CO2 emissions and the current, negligible diffusion of this technology. This calls for a financial support mechanism for CCS. We study to what extent promotion of CCS in Europe should be through subsidizing development and production of CCS technologies—an upstream subsidy—or by subsidising the purchasers of CCS technologies—a downstream subsidy. This question is examined theoretically in a stylized model and numerically by using a new approach that integrates strategic trade policy with an economic model of the European energy markets. The theory model suggests that upstream subsidies should clearly be preferred, and this is confirmed by the numerical simulations. For the European power market, the numerical simulations suggest that subsidies to CCS coal power should exceed subsidies to CCS gas power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geologic carbon storage in deep saline aquifers is considered a feasible and possible approach of mitigating the problem of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. However, there are latent risks in which carbon dioxide (CO2) could migrate from the deep saline formations to shallower aquifers. In the event of a significant CO2leakage to an underground source of drinking water, CO2will dissolve in the water, thereby increasing its acidity, which could potentially enhance the solubility of various aquifer constituents, including hazardous compounds, subsequently compromising groundwater quality due to increased concentration of aqueous metals. In this paper we explore the possibility of detecting such leakage by the use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The experiments were conducted in calcium chloride solution at three pressures of 10, 50, and 120 bar. To evaluate the direct effect of elevated CO2on the intensity of calcium emission lines (422.67 and 393.37 nm), we also performed experiments with pure nitrogen (N2) gas, offering large water solubility contrast. We found that when performed in presence of CO2, LIBS showed only a modest decrease in Ca emission intensity from 10 to 120 bar compared to N2. These results indicate that LIBS is a viable tool for measuring brine/water contents in high-pressure CO2environment and can be applied for monitoring CO2leakage and displaced brine migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, many forestry projects have been implemented in developing countries. In China, a variety of large-scale afforestation and reforestation programmes have been carried out with multiple objectives, such as livelihood improvement and carbon sequestration. As in many developing countries, these projects have been implemented in a smallholder context. This paper investigates the determinants of smallholder participation in large forestry projects. Using the case of camellia, it explores the determinants of smallholder participation using a probit regression model. To distinguish between participation in international and government-run projects, a bivariate probit regression model is used. The findings show that only 37% of households in the sample had participated in the Camellia project; a major reason for the low participation rate is perceived tenure insecurity. The results of the bivariate probit model show that the education level of the household head and household size have a positive impact on the likelihood of household participation. The more 'off-farm' activities are taken up in a household, the less likely a household is to participate in an international project. For a government project, household size also has a positive impact on the likelihood of participation. Chinese forestry is diversifying since the devolution offorestland use rights, with a majority of households hesitating to invest, while some risk investment and others depend on government subsidies. The main policy implication is that, if the Chinese government wishes to achieve its goal of 1.68 million hectares of camellia, then improving tenure security is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the developments which took place after the 2007 workshop which aimed at defining a roadmap for the deployments of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for carbon dioxide mitigation in Great Britain. It mentions that after the workshop, a CCS demonstration competition was announced and climatic change policies have been imposed to control carbon emissions. It informs that the first CCS project will be ready for commercial deployment by 2015.

Examines issues on the international policy debate on carbon sequestration. Outcome of the discussion during the sixth Conference of the Parties; Aim of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere; Establishment of the Clean Development Mechanism.

The carbon emission from the chiller plant mainly come from two major building stages: construction and operation, of which the majority of the carbon emission (around 80%) is from the operation management of buildings. On 22 September 2020, the President Xi of China stated that[2] 'Achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is a profound economic and social revolution, and it should be incorporated into the overall planning of ecological civilization construction, so as to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060'. Carbon neutrality is a balance between carbon source reduction and carbon absorption, i.e. reducing carbon emission sources while also having an important consideration on carbon elimination and absorption. [Extracted from the article]

Focuses on the relevance of biomass as an energy source. Terms of environmental sustainability; Role of biomass in the process of carbon sequestration; Characteristics of biomass energy sources.

Taiwan intends to be nuclear free by 2025. This study employs the Lotka–Volterra competition model for sustainable development to analyze the emissions–energy–economy (3Es) issue to make appropriate policy suggestions for a nuclear-free transition. It also offers a new approach to naming the 3E relationship. The literature review shows that the environmental Kuznets curve accompanies the feedback and conservation hypotheses. In the 3E dynamics relationship analysis, the model shows a good mean absolute percentage error (<15%) for the model estimation. The key findings are as follows: 1) the fossil fuel-led economy exists; 2) CO2 emissions are reduced with nuclear energy consumption; 3) renewable energy is far from scale; 4) a complementary effect exists between fossil fuel and nuclear energy consumption; and 5) gas retrofitting and phasing out of nuclear seem imminent. In the energy transition, Taiwan drastically cuts nuclear energy without considering energy diversity due to which troubles might ensue. The priority issue for Taiwan's energy mix is energy security. To deal with these concerns, this study suggests the government could improve energy efficiency, build a smart grid, develop carbon capture and storage, and reconsider putting nuclear energy back into the energy mix before renewable energy is scaled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) in the global carbon cycle is still incompletely characterized. Much work has been done to characterize PyC on landforms and in soils where it originates or in "terminal" reservoirs such as marine sediments. Less is known about intermediate reservoirs such as streams and rivers, and few studies have characterized hillslope and in-stream erosion control structures (ECS) designed to capture soils and sediments destabilized by wildfire. In this preliminary study, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (N), and stable isotope parameters, δ13C and δ15N, were compared to assess opportunities for carbon and nitrogen sequestration in postwildfire sediments (fluvents) deposited upgradient of ECS in ephemeral- and intermittent-stream channels. The variability of OC, N, δ13C, and δ15N were analyzed in conjunction with fire history, age of captured sediments, topographic position, and land cover. Comparison of samples in 2 watersheds indicates higher OC and N in ECS with more recently captured sediments located downstream of areas with higher burn severity. This is likely a consequence of (1) higher burn severity causing greater runoff, erosion, and transport of OC (organic matter) to ECS and (2) greater cumulative loss of OC and N in older sediments stored behind older ECS. In addition, C/N, δ13C, and δ15N results suggest that organic matter in sediments stored at older ECS are enriched in microbially processed biomass relative to those at newer ECS. We conservatively estimated the potential mean annual capture of OC by ECS, using values from the watershed with lower levels of OC, to be 3 to 4 metric tons, with a total potential storage of 293 to 368 metric tons in a watershed of 7.7 km2 and total area of 2000 ECS estimated at 2.6 ha (203-255 metric tons/ha). We extrapolated the OC results to the regional level (southwest USA) to estimate the potential for carbon sequestration using these practices. We estimated a potential of 0.01 Pg, which is significant in terms of ecosystem services and regional efforts to promote carbon storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various topics published within the issue including one by Edward H. Owens, Samuel Chapman and Paul Allan on the impact of carbon capture and storage on coal resource depletion, one by Jonathan J. Drake on the influence of station numbers on temperature measurement and one by Dan Pangburn on the literature on average global temperature (agt).

Climate change is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing our planet in the foreseeable future, yet, despite international environmental agreements, global GHG emissions are still increasing. In this context, adaptation measures can play an important role in reducing climate impacts. These measures involve adjustments to economic or social structures to limit the impact of climate change without limiting climate change itself. To assess the interplay of adaptation and mitigation, we develop AD-MERGE, an integrated assessment model that includes both reactive ('flow') and proactive ('stock') adaptation strategies as well as a range of mitigation (energy) technologies. We find that applying adaptation optimally delays but does not prevent the transition to clean energy systems (carbon capture and sequestration systems, nuclear, and renewables). Moreover, applying both adaptation and mitigation is more effective than using just one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review is made of the current state of agriculture, emphasising issues of soil erosion and dependence on fossil fuels, in regard to achieving food security for a relentlessly enlarging global population. Soil has been described as "the fragile, living skin of the Earth", and yet both its aliveness and fragility have all too often been ignored in the expansion of agriculture across the face of the globe. Since it is a pivotal component in a global nexus of soil-water-air-energy, how we treat the soil can impact massively on climate change - with either beneficial or detrimental consequences, depending on whether the soil is preserved or degraded. Regenerative agriculture has at its core the intention to improve the health of soil or to restore highly degraded soil, which symbiotically enhances the quality of water, vegetation and land-productivity. By using methods of regenerative agriculture, it is possible not only to increase the amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) in existing soils, but to build new soil. This has the effect of drawing down carbon from the atmosphere, while simultaneously improving soil structure and soil health, soil fertility and crop yields, water retention and aquifer recharge - thus ameliorating both flooding and drought, and also the erosion of further soil, since runoff is reduced. Since food production on a more local scale is found to preserve the soil and its quality, urban food production should be seen as a significant potential contributor to regenerative agriculture in the future, so long as the methods employed are themselves 'regenerative'. If localisation is to become a dominant strategy for dealing with a vastly reduced use of fossil fuels, and preserving soil quality - with increased food production in towns and cities - it will be necessary to incorporate integrated ('systems') design approaches such as permaculture and the circular economy (which minimise and repurpose 'waste') within the existing urban infrastructure. In addition to growing food in urban space, such actions as draught-proofing and thermally insulating existing building stock, and living/working on a more local scale, would serve well to cut our overall energy consumption. In order to curb our use of fossil fuels, methods for reducing overall energy use must be considered at least equally important to expanding low-carbon energy production. In synopsis, it is clear that only by moving from the current linear, 'take, make, dispose (waste-creation)' model for resource-consumption, to the systemic, circular alternative of 'reduce, reuse, recycle, regenerate', are we likely to meet demands for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social licence to operate (SLO) is an informal agreement that infers ongoing acceptance of an industrial or energy project by a local community and the stakeholders affected by it. Negotiation of SLOs centrally implicates language and communication, including scientific language and concepts. We first review the literature about the definition and communicative features of SLOs, and their relation to scientific communication. We describe communication accommodation theory and the ways that it can help understand (un)successful SLO negotiation, and describe examples of texts that show accommodative or nonaccommodative language around SLOs. We summarize some results which help indicate different ways of accommodating communities in the negotiation of SLOs. Finally, we describe a research agenda on communication accommodation and SLOs, in the service of improving their impact on energy, the environment, and the transfer of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The full-chain development of CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) requires the cooperation of different stakeholders. Focusing on full-chain CCSEOR (enhanced oil recovery) projects, this study presents a benefit-risk analysis for two kinds of stakeholder (power plant owner and oil field owner). Their interaction (in CO2 capture and utilization) will be reflected in the contract design, in terms of several items referring to price setting and cost sharing. Taking account of uncertainty factors and operational flexibility, benefits and risks for a power plant and an oil field cooperating on a CCS-EOR project can be separately evaluated. The simulation results show that the oil field occupies the dominant position in cooperative CO2 utilization, and that contract design needs to improve the position of power plants, especially in terms of the pricing power of captured CO2. The present approach can help different stakeholders in the CCS value chain to better identify their level of benefit and risk, and to support the negotiation of cost and risk sharing among different stakeholders in full-chain CCS deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]