scholarly journals Irrigation of biomass plantations may globally increase water stress more than climate change

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Stenzel ◽  
Peter Greve ◽  
Wolfgang Lucht ◽  
Sylvia Tramberend ◽  
Yoshihide Wada ◽  
...  

AbstractBioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered an important negative emissions (NEs) technology, but might involve substantial irrigation on biomass plantations. Potential water stress resulting from the additional withdrawals warrants evaluation against the avoided climate change impact. Here we quantitatively assess potential side effects of BECCS with respect to water stress by disentangling the associated drivers (irrigated biomass plantations, climate, land use patterns) using comprehensive global model simulations. By considering a widespread use of irrigated biomass plantations, global warming by the end of the 21st century could be limited to 1.5 °C compared to a climate change scenario with 3 °C. However, our results suggest that both the global area and population living under severe water stress in the BECCS scenario would double compared to today and even exceed the impact of climate change. Such side effects of achieving substantial NEs would come as an extra pressure in an already water-stressed world and could only be avoided if sustainable water management were implemented globally.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Stenzel ◽  
Peter Greve ◽  
Wolfgang Lucht ◽  
Sylvia Tramberend ◽  
Yoshihide Wada ◽  
...  

Abstract Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered an important negative emissions (NEs) technology, but might involve substantial irrigation on biomass plantations. Potential water stress resulting from the additional withdrawals for irrigation warrants evaluation against the avoided climate change impact. Here we quantitatively assess potential side effects of BECCS with respect to water stress by disentangling the associated drivers (irrigated bioenergy, climate, land use patterns) using comprehensive global model simulations. By considering a widespread use of irrigated BECCS to limit global warming to 1.5°C, our results suggest that both the global area and population living under severe water stress will double by the end of the 21st century, which could even exceed the impact of climate change avoided by the NEs (3°C warming). Such side-effects of achieving substantial NEs would come as an extra pressure in an already water-stressed world and could only be avoided if sustainable water management would be implemented globally.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2110481
Author(s):  
V. Bisinella ◽  
J. Nedenskov ◽  
Christian Riber ◽  
Tore Hulgaard ◽  
Thomas H. Christensen

Amending municipal solid waste incineration with carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a new approach that can reduce the climate change impacts of waste incineration. This study provides a detailed analysis of the consequences of amending the new Amager Bakke incinerator in Copenhagen (capacity: 600,000 tonnes waste per year) with CCS as a post-combustion technology. Emphasis is on the changes in the energy flows and outputs as well as the environmental performance of the plant; the latter is assessed by life cycle assessment. Amending Amager Bakke with CCS of the chosen configuration reduces the electricity output by 50% due to steam use by the capture unit, but introducing post-capture flue gas condensation increases the heat output utilized in the Copenhagen district heating system by 20%. Thus, the overall net energy efficiency is not affected. The CCS amendment reduces the fossil CO2 emissions to 40 kg CO2 per tonne of incinerated waste and stores 530 kg biogenic CO2 per tonne of incinerated waste. Potential developments in the composition of the residual waste incinerated or in the energy systems that Amager Bakke interacts with, do not question the benefits of the CCS amendment. In terms of climate change impacts, considering different waste composition and energy system scenarios, introducing CCS reduces in average the impact of Amager Bakke by 850 kg CO2-equivalents per tonne of incinerated waste. CCS increases the environmental impacts in other categories, but not in the same order of magnitude as the savings introduced within climate change.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
ADRIAN RINSCHEID ◽  
SILVIA PIANTA ◽  
ELKE U. WEBER

Abstract What are the roles of bottom-up and top-down signals in the formation of climate change policy preferences? Using a large sample of American residents (n = 1520) and combining an experimental manipulation of descriptive social norms with two choice experiments, we investigate the effects of descriptive norms and policy endorsements by key political actors on climate policy support. We study these questions in two areas considered to be central in a number of decarbonization pathways: the phase-out of fossil fuel-powered cars and the deployment of carbon capture and storage. Our study provides two important results. First, social norm interventions may be no silver bullet for increasing citizens’ support for ambitious climate policies. In fact, we not only find that climate policy support is unaffected by norm messages communicating an increased diffusion of pro-environmental behaviors, but also that norm messages communicating the prevalence of non-sustainable behaviors decrease policy support. Second, in the presence of policy endorsements by political parties, citizens’ trust in these parties influences their support for climate policies. This study contributes to research in behavioral climate policy by examining the impact of descriptive norms and elite cues on climate policy support.


2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 265-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meleesa Naughton ◽  
Richard C. Darton ◽  
Fai Fung

Anticipatory adaptation to climate change requires the impact of future changes in water availability to be investigated prior to deployment of low-carbon electricity generation infrastructure. Here we investigate whether climate change may limit water availability for a proposed coal-fired (CF) power station site with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). We find that climate change may pose constraints on water availability, and that regulatory constraints on water abstraction licences may affect CF electricity generation with CCS. The regulatory constraints associated with the current misalignment of water and energy policies are explored through interviews with stakeholders. We find that water availability has not been identified as a potential limiting factor for future CF electricity generation with CCS and that current UK energy policy, combined with economic and historical factors, may exacerbate the water demand of CF electricity generation with CCS. These issues need to be addressed prior to deployment of CCS technology.


Author(s):  
Yongyang Cai

Integrated assessment models (IAMs) of the climate and economy aim to analyze the impact and efficacy of policies that aim to control climate change, such as carbon taxes and subsidies. A major characteristic of IAMs is that their geophysical sector determines the mean surface temperature increase over the preindustrial level, which in turn determines the damage function. Most of the existing IAMs assume that all of the future information is known. However, there are significant uncertainties in the climate and economic system, including parameter uncertainty, model uncertainty, climate tipping risks, and economic risks. For example, climate sensitivity, a well-known parameter that measures how much the equilibrium temperature will change if the atmospheric carbon concentration doubles, can range from below 1 to more than 10 in the literature. Climate damages are also uncertain. Some researchers assume that climate damages are proportional to instantaneous output, while others assume that climate damages have a more persistent impact on economic growth. The spatial distribution of climate damages is also uncertain. Climate tipping risks represent (nearly) irreversible climate events that may lead to significant changes in the climate system, such as the Greenland ice sheet collapse, while the conditions, probability of tipping, duration, and associated damage are also uncertain. Technological progress in carbon capture and storage, adaptation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency are uncertain as well. Future international cooperation and implementation of international agreements in controlling climate change may vary over time, possibly due to economic risks, natural disasters, or social conflict. In the face of these uncertainties, policy makers have to provide a decision that considers important factors such as risk aversion, inequality aversion, and sustainability of the economy and ecosystem. Solving this problem may require richer and more realistic models than standard IAMs and advanced computational methods. The recent literature has shown that these uncertainties can be incorporated into IAMs and may change optimal climate policies significantly.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 181902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junchen Lv ◽  
Yuan Chi ◽  
Changzhong Zhao ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Hailin Mu

Reliable measurement of the CO 2 diffusion coefficient in consolidated oil-saturated porous media is critical for the design and performance of CO 2 -enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. A thorough experimental investigation of the supercritical CO 2 diffusion in n -decane-saturated Berea cores with permeabilities of 50 and 100 mD was conducted in this study at elevated pressure (10–25 MPa) and temperature (333.15–373.15 K), which simulated actual reservoir conditions. The supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficients in the Berea cores were calculated by a model appropriate for diffusion in porous media based on Fick's Law. The results show that the supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficient increases as the pressure, temperature and permeability increase. The supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficient first increases slowly at 10 MPa and then grows significantly with increasing pressure. The impact of the pressure decreases at elevated temperature. The effect of permeability remains steady despite the temperature change during the experiments. The effect of gas state and porous media on the supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficient was further discussed by comparing the results of this study with previous study. Based on the experimental results, an empirical correlation for supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficient in n -decane-saturated porous media was developed. The experimental results contribute to the study of supercritical CO 2 diffusion in compact porous media.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Kapitza ◽  
Pham Van Ha ◽  
Tom Kompas ◽  
Nick Golding ◽  
Natasha C. R. Cadenhead ◽  
...  

AbstractClimate change threatens biodiversity directly by influencing biophysical variables that drive species’ geographic distributions and indirectly through socio-economic changes that influence land use patterns, driven by global consumption, production and climate. To date, no detailed analyses have been produced that assess the relative importance of, or interaction between, these direct and indirect climate change impacts on biodiversity at large scales. Here, we apply a new integrated modelling framework to quantify the relative influence of biophysical and socio-economically mediated impacts on avian species in Vietnam and Australia and we find that socio-economically mediated impacts on suitable ranges are largely outweighed by biophysical impacts. However, by translating economic futures and shocks into spatially explicit predictions of biodiversity change, we now have the power to analyse in a consistent way outcomes for nature and people of any change to policy, regulation, trading conditions or consumption trend at any scale from sub-national to global.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-91
Author(s):  
Bhanu Priya Chouhan ◽  
Monika Kannan

The world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. More than half of the world’s population now lives in towns and cities, and by 2030 this number will swell to about 5 billion. ‘Urbanization has the potential to usher in a new era of wellbeing, resource efficiency and economic growth. But due to increased population the pressure of demand also increases in urban areas’ (Drakakis-Smith, David, 1996). The loss of agricultural land to other land uses occasioned by urban growth is an issue of growing concern worldwide, particularly in the developing countries like India. This paper is an attempt to assess the impact of urbanization on land use and land cover patterns in Ajmer city. Recent trends indicate that the rural urban migration and religious significance of the place attracting thousands of tourists every year, have immensely contributed in the increasing population of city and is causing change in land use patterns. This accelerating urban sprawl has led to shrinking of the agricultural land and land holdings. Due to increased rate of urbanization, the agricultural areas have been transformed into residential and industrial areas (Retnaraj D,1994). There are several key factors which cause increase in population here such as Smart City Projects, potential for employment, higher education, more comfortable and quality housing, better health facilities, high living standard etc. Population pressure not only directly increases the demand for food, but also indirectly reduces its supply through building development, environmental degradation and marginalization of food production (Aldington T, 1997). Also, there are several issues which are associated with continuous increase in population i.e. land degradation, pollution, poverty, slums, unaffordable housing etc. Pollution, formulation of slums, transportation congestion, environmental hazards, land degradation and crime are some of the major impacts of urbanization on Ajmer city. This study involves mapping of land use patterns by analyzing data and satellite imagery taken at different time periods. The satellite images of year 2000 and 2017 are used. The change detection techniques are used with the help of Geographical Information System software like ERDAS and ArcGIS. The supervised classification of all the three satellite images is done by ERDAS software to demarcate and analyze land use change.


Author(s):  
Mehmetali AK ◽  
◽  
Aslı GÜNEŞ GÖLBEY ◽  

One of the most important environmental problems in today's world is climate change caused by greenhouse gases. Due to the increase in CO2 emissions from greenhouse gases, climate change is increasing and moving towards the point of no return. In this process, many ideas have been developed to combat climate change. One of these ideas is that cities should be sustainable. In order for cities to be sustainable, activities such as expanding the use of renewable energy resources in cities, increasing green and environmentally friendly transportation, improving air quality, and minimizing carbon emissions should be carried out. In this context, open green areas have important effects in terms of improving air quality, reducing the heat island effect in cities and especially keeping carbon emissions to a minimum. Thus, the efficiency and productivity of carbon capture and storage of green areas come to the fore. There are several methods to measure the carbon capture and storage efficiency of green areas and to evaluate their efficiency. In this study, the methods used in determining open green areas in cities and evaluating biomass productivity in these areas will be examined.


Author(s):  
Peixuan Cheng ◽  
Fansheng Meng ◽  
Yeyao Wang ◽  
Lingsong Zhang ◽  
Qi Yang ◽  
...  

The relationships between land use patterns and water quality in trans-boundary watersheds remain elusive due to the heterogeneous natural environment. We assess the impact of land use patterns on water quality at different eco-functional regions in the Songhua River basin during two hydrological seasons in 2016. The partial least square regression indicated that agricultural activities associated with most water quality pollutants in the region with a relative higher runoff depth and lower altitude. Intensive grazing had negative impacts on water quality in plain areas with low runoff depth. Forest was related negatively with degraded water quality in mountainous high flow region. Patch density and edge density had major impacts on water quality contaminants especially in mountainous high flow region; Contagion was related with non-point source pollutants in mountainous normal flow region; landscape shape index was an effective indicator for anions in some eco-regions in high flow season; Shannon’s diversity index contributed to degraded water quality in each eco-region, indicating the variation of landscape heterogeneity influenced water quality regardless of natural environment. The results provide a regional based approach of identifying the impact of land use patterns on water quality in order to improve water pollution control and land use management.


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