Decarbonisation cycle: Exploration and explanation

Decarbonisation can be described as all initiatives whereby a sector, government, or an organisation to lessen its carbon footprint, and its emissions of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) to improve its climate impact

1. R esea r ch T o p ic : D ecar b o nisati o n Group 9 members: Niteshwara(36497262) Jin Mei (36341576) Dhirren (36558117) Ryan (36341592)

2. T a b le o f C o n t en t 1. Introduction 2. The o r e tical b a c k g r ound 3. A pp licati o ns o f D ecar b o ni z ati o n C hall e nges o f D ecar b o ni z ati o n 4. 5. C o nclusi o ns

3. Introduction What is decarbonisation ? Decarbonisation can be described as all initiatives whereby a sector, government, or an organisation to lessen its carbon footprint, and its emissions of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) to improve its climate impact. (Engie, 2021) Figure 1: CO2 mandatory (B r amoene r g y .com, 2024)

4. The o r e tical B a c k g r ound Why the need for decarbonisation? Climate change : The long term shifts in earth’s temperature and weather patterns (Nat. Geo. , 2024) Driven by the increase in the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) Carbon Dioxide(CO ₂ ), Methane(CH ₄ ) Effects : rising sea levels, more extreme weather events, air pollution Figur e 2 : Greenhous e Effect s (Desonie , D . 2023)

5. C lima t e change According to the NOAA, Combined land and sea temperatures have increased at an average rate of 0.06 celsius per decade since 1850 global temperatures could reach as much as 5.67C warmer Future of global warming depends on how much CO2 and other GHGs we emit. Figur e 4 : Projecte d carbo n emission s an d temperatures (Hayhoe, K, 2017)

6. C ar b o n C y cle D i s ru p ti o n What is the carbon cycle? Natural process which carbon atoms circulate between the Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, soil and organisms. (US, DoE, 2024) Key components : atmosphere, photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, oceans, fossil fuels Human activities have disrupted the natural carbon cycle. Figure 5 : Carbon Cycle (US Department of Energy, 2024)

7. W h y is it im p o r t a n t ? Our planet is a closed system, meaning the Earth does not lose or gain carbon, but carbon does move constantly. Human activities releases stored carbon into the atmosphere, where it becomes a GHG. According to the US Department of Energy, historically about 25% of carbon emissions from humans have been captured by forests grassland and farms, while 30% is by oceans.

8. C ar b o n C y cle D i s ru p ti o n The excess amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere by humans disrupt the carbon cycle as nature alone is not able to absorb all of it. Negative effects (NOAa,2024) : ocean acidification Climate Change Air pollution

9. Carbon Capture, Utilization and storage (CCUS) What is CCUS? A process that captures CO2 emissions from large sources like power plants or industrial facilities usin fossil fuels or biomass, for industrial use. (Lebling et al. 202 3 ) A pp licati o n o f D ecar b o ni z ati o n Figure 7: Technology of CCUS. Source : HDEC Newsroom

10. E x am p les o f CCUS Concrete and Cement Industrial Sectors T he CO2 emissions during the process of firing clay is recaptured and than sequestered in a hardened concrete . Food and Beverages Sectors CO2 from the industrial process is recovered And purified than get sent to food and beverage industries. (Greenbiz,2023 ) Figure 9:: Liberty Coca-Cola, (Greenbiz,2023) Figure 8: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021, 55, 8, 5212–5223

11. A pp licati o n o f D ecar b o ni z ati o n Figure 10: Electrification of Energy Demand (Pawas Prasoon, 2021) Electrification Process of replacing energy consuming device, appliance or sector from non electrical energy to electrical energy. Why Electrify ? Cleaner Energy Sources Energy Efficiency Lower operating cost

12. E x am p les o f Ele c trificati o n in dif f e r en t se c t o r s Transportation Industry Electric Vehicles Electric arc Furnaces Figur e 1 1: A Dee p Div e int o th e Statistic s an d T rend (Ukpanah, 2024) Figure 12: Electric arc furnaces (EAF) (Kopeliovich,2023)

13. A pp licati o n o f D ecar b o ni z ati o n Carbon exchange and how it works Utilizing a market-driven approach, carbon trading seeks to offer financial rewards to companies that lessen their environmental impact. In contrast to voluntary offsets, which allow customers to pay for the right to offset their carbon footprint, carbon trading is a mandated program. Figur e 15 : America n century investments . (Sharvari Johari, 2023)

14. A pp licati o n o f D ecar b o ni z ati o n Renewable energy By increasing the usage of renewable energy such as solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy,biomass and hydropower, the rate of greenhouse gas emissions reduces exponentially. By changing to a much cleaner and sustainable energy, we could achieve a carbon neutral future, no longer having to depend on the usage of fossil fuels, which is one of the main cause of greenhouse gasses. Figure 16: Legendpower ( 2023)

15. C hall e nges o f D ecar b o nisati o n Challenges faced by “Carbon capture, utilisation and storage ( CCUS ). Economics aspect High cost of operation In the United States, the Biden administration has invested more than 12 billion in CCUS operation. The Chicken and egg problem of infrastructure. New infrastructure and devices need to be developed and provided to support the CCUS operation. For example, pipelines will be needed to transfer captured carbon from sites to storage facilities. Figure 17: Decoding challenges of “CCUS”. (Martinez, 2024) (Oil & Gas IQ, 2023)

16. C hall e nges o f D ecar b o nisati o n Challenges faced by Electrification (Proctor.D, 2023) Supply Chain and Workforce Constraints Slow rate of production and distribution of critical materials. For example, lithium batteries. Shortage of skilled technician Less effective of installation and maintenance. Economic and Investment Uncertainty Massive investments are required. Challenging due to inflation and fluctuating energy prices. Figure 18: Renewable Energy (Gera,I ;Bureau, E ,2023)

17. C hall e nges o f D ecar b o nisati o n Challenges faced by carbon exchange Ethical issues Carbon market and trading systems are manipulated by wealthy and powerful. Polluters emits greenhouse gases by purchasing carbon credits from others. Trust in carbon market has been eroded due to lack of transparency. Public awareness Lack of understanding For example, mechanism of carbon exchange and its potential benefits. Figure 9: Challenges of Traditional Carbon Credit Market (Antier_SEO, 2023) Lyimo, P. (2024)

18. Conclusion:

19. R e f e r e nces TWI (2023). What is Decarbonisation? [online] www.twi-global.com. Available at: https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/what-is-decarbonisation . U.S. Energy Information Administration (2023). Renewable energy explained - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) . [online] Eia.gov. Available at: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/renewable-sources/ . Lebling, K., Gangotra, A., Hausker, K. and Byrum, Z. (2023). 7 Things to Know About Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration. www.wri.org . [online] Available at: https://www.wri.org/insights/carbon-capture-technology . Clancy, H. (2023). This Coca-Cola bottler will capture carbon dioxide to put the fizz in its drinks . [online] Trellis. Available at: https://trellis.net/article/coca-cola-bottler-will-capture-carbon-dioxide-put-fizz-its-drinks/ [Accessed 28 Aug. 2024]. Lindsey, R., Dahlman, L (2024). Climate Change - Global Temperatures. Available at : https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature (Accessed : 28 Aug. 2024). Lindsey, R. (2024). Climate Change - atmospheric carbon dioxide. Available at : https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide ( Accessed : 28 Aug. 2024) National Geographic (2024). Climate Change. Available at : https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/climate-change/ ( Accessed : 29 Aug. 2024) US Department of Energy (2024). DoE explains… the carbon cycle. Available at : https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsthe-carbon-cycle ( Accessed 29 Aug. 2024) Americancentury.com. (2023). Carbon Markets – Financing a Greener Future or Buying Absolution? [online] Available at: https://www.americancentury.com/institutional-investors/insights/carbon-markets-financing-a-greener-future-or-buying-absolution/?nocache=true [Accessed 9 Sep. 2024]. Team, W. (2015). The State of Renewable Energy . [online] Legend Power Systems. Available at: https://legendpower.com/news-events/the-state-of-renewable-energy/.

20. Engie.com. (n.d.). What is decarbonisation? | ENGIE . [online] Available at: https://www.engie.com/en/news/decarbonation-definition. Proctor, D. (2023) Deloitte report highlights growth in renewables, challenges for 2024 , POWER Magazine . Available at: https://www.powermag.com/deloitte-report-highlights-growth-in-renewables-challenges-for-2024/ (Accessed: 01 September 2024). The energy transition: Where are we, really? (2024) McKinsey & Company Electric Power and Natural Gas . Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/electric-power-and-natural-gas/our-insights (Accessed: 01 September 2024). Oil & Gas IQ (2023) 3 key challenges for CCUS , Oil & Gas IQ . Available at: https://www.oilandgasiq.com/decarbonization/articles/3-key-challenges-for-the-deployment-of-ccus (Accessed: 01 Septembe r 2024). Lyimo, P. (2024) Challenges in carbon markets - tanzania national carbon monitoring centre (NCMC): Carbon Tanzania: Sokoine University of Agriculture | , Tanzania National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC) | Carbon Tanzania | Sokoine University of Agriculture | https://www.ncmc.sua.ac.tz/news/challenges-in-carbon-market . Available at: (Accessed: 01 September 2024). Martinez, V. (2024, June 5). Dassault Systemes . Retrieved from Decoding the Challenges of Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage https://blog.3ds.com/industries/infrastructure-energy-materials/decoding-the-challenges-of-carbon-capture-utilization-and-storage-ccus / Available at: (Accessed: 07 September 2024). Gera, I. (2023, February 22). The Economic Times . Retrieved from Decoding India's Renewables Report Card: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/renewables/decoding-indias-renewables-report-card/articleshow/98130759.cms?from=md r A vailable at : (Accessed: 7 Septembe r 2024). Antier. (2023, July 20). Antier Decentralising the world. Retrieved from Blockchain Carbon Credit Software: The Future of Sustainable Business: https://ww w .antiersolutions.com/blockchain-carbon-credit-software-the-future-of-sustainable-business / . A vailable at : (Accessed: 7 Septembe r 2024). R e f e r e nces

21. Q & A