Mitigation Strategies

Learning Outcomes:

1. Understanding the concept of carbon sequestration and its various methods.
2. Recognizing the importance of carbon sinks and distinguishing between green and blue carbon.
3. Grasping the mechanisms of carbon credits and their role in global emission reduction.
4. Comprehending carbon offsetting and how it aids climate mitigation projects.
5. Exploring carbon taxes and comparing them with the ‘cap and trade’ system.
6. Investigating various geo-engineering methods aimed at global warming mitigation.

Carbon Sequestration

Carbon sequestration refers to the technologies that capture CO2 from power stations, industrial sites, or directly from the air and store it underground. This long-term storage helps mitigate or defer global warming by slowing the accumulation of greenhouse gases. Carbon sequestration uses natural or artificial sinks to store captured carbon.

Sinks:

1. Natural sinks: Include oceans, forests, and soil.
2. Artificial sinks: Include depleted oil reserves and unmineable mines.
3. Three main steps of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS):
4. Trapping and separating the CO2 from other gases.
5. Transporting captured CO2 to a storage location.
6. Storing CO2 underground or deep in the ocean, away from the atmosphere.

Types of Sequestration:

1. Ocean Sequestration: Storing carbon in oceans via direct injection or fertilization.
2. Geologic Sequestration: Storing CO2 in pore spaces within geological formations.
3. Terrestrial Sequestration: Increasing carbon uptake in soils and vegetation through photosynthesis and altering land use practices.

Geologic Sequestration Trapping Mechanisms:

1. Hydrodynamic Trapping: CO2 trapped as a gas under low-permeability cap rock.
2. Solubility Trapping: Dissolving CO2 in liquid (e.g., water or oil).
3. Mineral Carbonation: CO2 reacts with minerals in geological formations to form stable compounds (e.g., carbonates).

Important Note: Asian golden cat prefers forests interspersed with rocky areas, found in Assam & Arunachal Pradesh in India. IUCN status: Near Threatened.

Carbon Sink

Carbon sinks absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. Unlike black and brown carbon contributing to greenhouse gases, green and blue carbon mitigate atmospheric greenhouse gases.

Green Carbon:

1. Removed by photosynthesis and stored in plants and soil.
2. Forest biomass stores carbon for decades, accumulating large CO2 amounts quickly.
3. Afforestation and reforestation are key measures to enhance sequestration.

Blue Carbon:

1. Found in coastal, aquatic, and marine ecosystems, including tidal marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses.
2. Coastal ecosystems remove carbon and deposit it in sediments, storing up to 5 times more carbon than many temperate and tropical forests.
3. Vital for climate change mitigation due to their rapid disappearance and potential to become new carbon emission sources.

The Blue Carbon Initiative:

1. First integrated program aimed at climate change mitigation via conservation and restoration of coastal marine ecosystems.
2. Collaboration between Conservation International (CI), IUCN, and IOC of UNESCO with global governments and communities.
3. Objectives include developing management approaches, incentive mechanisms, carbon accounting methods, and supporting scientific research.

Important Note: Ivory nut (seeds of Phytelephas macrocarpa) serves as a substitute for true ivory and is used in manufacturing buttons, chess pieces, etc.

Carbon Credit

A carbon credit is a tradeable permit allowing the emission of one tonne of carbon dioxide or equivalent gases.

How to Earn Carbon Credits:

1. An organization that produces one tonne less of CO2 than its standard emission level earns a carbon credit.
2. Encourages developing nations to adopt eco-friendly technologies and help developed countries meet emission norms.

Benefits:

1. Helps countries meet emission norms laid out in the Kyoto Protocol.
2. Creates a market for carbon credits, enabling developing countries to become key sellers.

Developing Countries:

1. Countries like India and China are leading sellers of carbon credits, with Europe being the largest buyer.
2. India contributes approximately $1 billion in global carbon credit trading.

Important Note: Rhizobium and Frankia bacteria are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, supporting root nodules in legumes and non-legume plants.

Carbon Offsetting

Carbon offsets are credits for greenhouse gas reductions made at other locations, quantified in metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Key Points:

1. Buying a carbon offset reduces one tonne of CO2 emissions globally.
2. Offers fastest reductions within businesses and provides added benefits at project sites (e.g., employment, community development).
3. Credible offsets must meet quality criteria, ensuring they are additional, retired from the market, and address permanence and leakage concerns.

Example: A business funds a solar panel project in India, reducing CO2 emissions by 100 tonnes, thus achieving global emission reductions.

Carbon Tax

A carbon tax is a potential alternative to the ‘cap and trade’ system, aimed at reducing fossil fuel usage by taxing the carbon content in fuels.

Why Carbon Tax Over Cap and Trade:

1. Predictability: Helps predict energy prices, aiding investments in energy efficiency and alternate fuels.
2. Implementation: Easier to implement than the complex legalities of ‘cap and trade’.
3. Simplicity: Easier for the public to understand and accept.
4. Resistance to Manipulation: Less vulnerable to special interest group manipulation.
5. Rebates: Can be structured to offer rebates to the public.

India’s Position:

1. Will challenge any carbon taxes imposed by rich countries on Indian imports through the WTO dispute settlement forum.
2. Aims to negotiate terms that align with WTO compatibility.

Important Note: Softwood tracheids are preferred in papermaking due to their longer fibers compared to hardwoods.

Geo-Engineering

Geo-engineering involves modifying Earth’s environment to counter climate change impacts. It remains a theoretical concept, focusing on cooling strategies.

Plans to Stop Global Warming:

1. Copy a Volcano: Injecting sulfur into the atmosphere to block solar radiation, similar to volcanic eruptions.
2. Shoot Mirrors into Space: Deploying a large mirror to deflect sunlight, reducing solar radiation reaching Earth.
3. Seed the Sea with Iron: Pumping iron into oceans to stimulate phytoplankton growth, which absorbs CO2.
4. Whiten the Clouds: Spraying seawater into the sky using wind-powered ships to whiten clouds, increasing solar reflection.
5. Build Fake Trees: Constructing artificial trees with surfaces made of absorbent resin to capture CO2 from the air, storing it as liquid CO2.

Drawbacks:

1. Uncertain control over geoengineering projects post-implementation.
2. Focuses on symptom treatment rather than addressing root causes of global warming.
3. Potential to undermine efforts for personal carbon reduction and sustainable business practices.
4. High cost and maintenance challenges.

MCQ: Which carbon sequestration method is considered to have the largest near-term application potential?

1. Ocean Sequestration
2. Terrestrial Sequestration
3. Geologic Sequestration
4. Blue Carbon Ecosystem
   Correct Answer: 3. Geologic Sequestration