MITIGATION STRATEGIES

Mitigation-reducing climate change involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, either by reducing sources of these gases or enhancing the sinks that accumulate & store these gases.

1. Carbon Sequestration

• Carbon capture & storage, known as CCS/Carbon Sequestration, describes the technologies designed to tackle global warming by capturing CO2 at power stations, industrial sites or even directly from the air & permanently storing it underground.
• Carbon sequestration describes long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to either mitigate or defer global warming.
• It was proposed as a way to slow the atmospheric & marine accumulation of greenhouse gases, which are released by burning fossil fuels.
• Carbon sequestration may be carried out by pumping carbon into “Carbon Sinks”-an area that absorbs carbon- Natural Sinks- Oceans, forests, soil etc. Artificial sinks- Depleted oil reserves, unmineable mines etc.
• Carbon capture has been in use for years. The oil & gas industries have used carbon capture for decades as a way to enhance oil & gas recovery.
• Only recently have we started thinking about capturing carbon for environmental reasons.

There are three main steps to carbon capture & storage (CCS)

• Trapping & separating the CO2 from other gases.
• Transporting this captured CO2 to a storage location.
• Storing that CO2 far away from the atmosphere-underground or deep in the ocean.

Types of Sequestration

There are several technologies under investigation for sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. These can be discussed under three main categories:

• Ocean Sequestration: Carbon stored in oceans through direct injection or fertilization.
• Geologic Sequestration: Natural pore spaces in geologic formations serve as reservoirs for long-term carbon dioxide storage. It is thought to have the largest potential for near-term application.
• Terrestrial Sequestration: A large amount of carbon is stored in soils & vegetation, which are our natural carbon sinks. Increasing carbon fixation through photosynthesis, slowing down or reducing decomposition of organic matter and changing land use practices can enhance carbon uptake in these natural sinks.

Geologic Sequestration Trapping Mechanisms

• Solubility Trapping: Carbon dioxide can be dissolved into liquid, such as water or oil.
• Hydrodynamic Trapping: Carbon dioxide can be trapped as a gas under low-permeability cap rock-much like natural gas is stored in gas reservoirs.
• Mineral Carbonation: Carbon dioxide can react with the minerals, fluids, and organic matter in a geologic formation to form stable compounds or minerals, largely calcium, iron & magnesium carbonates.
• Carbon dioxide can be effectively stored in the earth’s subsurface by hydrodynamic trapping & solubility trapping-usually a combination of the two is most effective.

1.1. Carbon Sink

Unlike brown & black carbon that contribute to atmospheric greenhouse gases, green & blue carbon sequestrate the atmosphere's greenhouse gases.

Green Carbon

• Green carbon is carbon removed by photosynthesis & stored in the plants & soil of natural ecosystems & is a vital part of the global carbon cycle.
• Many plants & most crops have short lives & release much of their carbon at the end of each season, but forest biomass accumulates carbon over decades & centuries.
• Forests can accumulate large amounts of Carbon dioxide in relatively short periods, typically several decades.
• Afforestation & reforestation are measures that can be taken to enhance biological carbon sequestration.

Blue Carbon

• Blue carbon refers to coastal, aquatic & marine carbon sinks held by the indicative vegetation, marine organisms & sediments.
• Coastal ecosystems such as tidal marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses remove carbon from the atmosphere & ocean, storing it in plants & depositing it in the sediment below them by natural processes.
• These coastal ecosystems are very efficient at sequestering & storing carbon, each square mile of these systems can remove carbon from the atmosphere & oceans at rates higher than each square mile of mature tropical forests.
• Coastal ecosystems have been found to store huge quantities of carbon in organic-rich sediments- up to 5 times more carbon than many temperate & tropical forests.
• These ecosystems are found in all continents, except Antarctica.

Importance of Blue Carbon

• Preventing degradation, and destruction & promoting restoration of coastal ecosystems is a significant tool to mitigate climate change.
• The coastal ecosystems of mangroves, tidal marshes & seagrasses are some of the most rapidly disappearing natural systems on Earth.
• When lost they not only stop sequestering but also release their stores of carbon & become new sources of climate change causing carbon emissions which can last for centuries.
• The Blue Carbon Initiative is the first integrated program with a comprehensive & coordinated global agenda focused on mitigating climate change through the conservation & restoration of coastal marine ecosystems.

International Cooperation

• Conservation International (CI), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) & the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO are collaborating with governments, research institutions, non-governmental & international organizations, and communities around the world.
• Engage local, national & international governments to ensure policies & regulations support coastal Blue Carbon conservation, management & financing.
• Develop management approaches, financial incentives & policy mechanisms for ensuring the conservation, and restoration of coastal Blue Carbon ecosystems.
• Develop incentive mechanisms like carbon payment schemes for Blue Carbon projects.
• Implement projects around the world that demonstrate the feasibility of coastal Blue Carbon accounting, management, and incentive agreements.
• Support scientific research into the role & importance of coastal Blue Carbon ecosystems for climate change mitigation.

1.2. Carbon Credit

• A carbon credit is a tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one ton of carbon or carbon dioxide equivalent.
• One carbon credit is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide or in some markets, carbon dioxide equivalent gases.
• An organism which produces one ton less of carbon or carbon dioxide equivalent than the standard level of carbon emissions allowed for its outfit or activity earns a carbon credit.
• Countries which are signatories to the Kyoto Protocol under the UNFCC have laid down gas emission norms for their companies to be met by 2012.

In such cases, a company has two ways to reduce emissions.

1) It can reduce the GHG by adopting new technology or improving upon the existing technology to attain the new norms for the emission of gases.

2) It can tie up with developing nations & help them set up new eco-friendly technology, thereby helping developing countries or their companies earn credits.

This credit becomes a permit for the company to emit GHGs in its own country. However, only a portion of the carbon credits of the company in a developing country can be transferred to the company in a developed country.

Developing Countries

• Developing countries like India, and China are likely to emerge as the biggest sellers & Europe is going to be the biggest buyers of carbon credits.
• Last year global carbon credit trading was estimated at $5 billion, with India’s contribution at around $1 billion.
• China is currently the largest seller of carbon credits controlling about 70% of the market share.
• Carbon, like any other commodity has begun to be traded on India’s Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
• MCX has become the first exchange in Asia to trade carbon credits.

1.3. Carbon Offsetting

• Carbon offsets are credits for reductions in GHG emissions made at another location such as wind farms which create renewable energy & reduce the need for fossil-fuel-powered energy.
• Carbon offsets are quantified & sold in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
• Buying one ton of carbon offsets means there will be one less ton of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there would otherwise have been.
• Carbon offsetting is often the fastest way to achieve the deepest reductions within businesses & is also often delivers added benefits at the project site, such as employment opportunities, community development programs, training & education.
• For a carbon offset to be credible it must meet essential quality criteria, including proof that is additional, which will be retired from the carbon market so it cannot be double counted & it addresses issues like permanence & leakage.

Examples

• Business A1 is unable to reduce 100 tons of its carbon dioxide emissions in the short term.
• There is a project somewhere else in the world which could save 100 tons easily, but cash injection is needed.
• For instance, a community in India could swap from carbon-intensive kerosene as an energy source to solar panels, but they cannot afford the solar panels.
• Through the purchase of carbon offsets, financial assistance is provided to subsidise the cost of getting solar panels onto housing & through that it is enabled to save of 100 tons of carbon dioxide.
• Business A1 has therefore reduced global net carbon dioxide emissions by 100 tons.
• The added benefit is that Business A1 has helped facilitate a step change in local technology in a developing market.

1.4. Carbon Tax

• Carbon tax is the potential alternative to the Cap & trade method currently used by the protocol.
• This tax is based on the amount of carbon contained in a fuel like coal, etc.
• this tax aims to cause less fossil fuel use & hopefully cause an incentive to use other sources of energy.
• If the carbon tax was implemented it would be gradual & start at a low amount & increase over time to allow better industry & technology to be developed.
• 5 primary reasons why a carbon tax could prove more beneficial than the Cap and trade system are:

1. Predictability: The tax could help predict energy prices which might also help investments in energy efficiency & alternate fuels.
2. Implementation: A carbon tax could be put into use much quicker compared to the legalities that go along with the Cap and trade method.
3. Understandable: The carbon tax is simpler to understand & may therefore be embraced more by everyday people.
4. Manipulation: There is a lack of manipulation. Special interest groups have less of a chance to manipulate a carbon tax because of its simplicity.
5. Rebates: Like other forms of taxes, the carbon tax could be open for rebates to the public.

India’s Position-Carbon Tax

• India will bring a WTO challenge against any carbon taxes that rich countries impose on Indian imports.
• If they impose such a tax, we will take them to the WTO dispute settlement forum, through hard negotiations.
• Both the United States & European Union have discussed the possibility of imposing tariffs or other forms of border carbon adjustments on goods imported from countries with tax regulations on GHG emissions.

Geo-Engineering

• Geo-engineering primarily aims at modifying & cooling Earth’s environment, defeating the environmental damage & ensuing climate changes to make the planet more inhabitable.
• Geo-engineering, at this point is still only a theoretical Concept.
• Hoisting parasols, placing mirrors in space, whitening the stratosphere with sulfate aerosols, whitewashing building roofs to reflect sunlight or flinging iron filings into the ocean to promote carbon-gulping algae are some of the modes.

2. Plans to stop Global Warming

Copy A Volcano

• A volcanic eruption can blow many million tons of sulphur dioxide gas into the atmosphere, creating a cloud that blocks some of the sun’s radiation.
• By injecting the atmosphere with sulphur, some scientists believe they could likewise block solar radiation & potentially cool the planet.
• Those droplets are particularly good at scattering the sun’s light back out into space. Because sulphur doesn’t heat the stratosphere as much as aerosols, it would not work against the cooling effect.
• Hydrogen sulfide is an even better candidate for atmospheric seeding than sulphur dioxide.

Seed the sea with Iron

• Scientist suggests iron will be the key to turning things around. Phytoplankton, which dwell near the surface, prefer iron.
• They adapt pulling carbon out of the atmosphere during photosynthesis.
• When they die after about 60 days, the carbon that the organisms have consumed falls to the bottom of the ocean.
• By pumping iron into the sea, stimulating phytoplankton to grow like crazy, scientists believe, global warming could be reversed.

Shoot Mirrors into space

To deflect enough sunlight to bring the earth’s climate back to its pre-industrial level, geo-engineers plan to launch a mirror, the size of Greenland & strategically position it between the planet & the sun.

Whiten the Clouds with Wind-powered Ships

Scientist hopes that, like the volcanic eruption, the tops of clouds also reflect solar radiation. Spraying a lot of seawater into the sky by wind-powered remotely activated ships to whiten the clouds & thus it will reflect solar radiation.

Build fake trees

• ‘Artificial tree’, a scaled-down version of an earlier prototype capable of capturing a ton of carbon in the atmosphere per day.
• Panels covering the surface of the tree-which would need to be about 50 square meters will be made of an absorbent resin that reacts with carbon dioxide in the air to form a solid.
• It can be compared to a furnace filter, capable of pulling particles out of the air.
• The panels or boxes can be removed & exposed to 113 F steam, which effectively cleans the filter.
• The chemical reaction with the stream causes the solid to release the carbon it has captured, which can then seize as liquid carbon dioxide.
• Pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is only half the battle, afterwards it must be sequestered or permanently trapped.

Uses

• Horticulturists need carbon dioxide in greenhouses for plants to use during photosynthesis.
• For producing dry ice
• For developing new kinds of plastic & concrete that can be made with carbon dioxide.

Drawbacks

• Scientists have no idea whether they could shut down some of these geo-engineering projects once they start.
• Geo-engineering treats the symptoms of global warming & could very well undermine efforts to address the root cause.
• The cost, of maintenance for geoengineering projects is too high.
• People may feel as though they don’t need to reduce their carbon emissions & companies may continue to conduct business as usual, expecting researchers to clean up the mess.