Climate Change-III

Climate Change Mitigation Strategies

Carbon Capture and Storage:

Carbon Capture and Storage is the process of capturing waste carbon dioxide, transporting it to a storage site, and storing it where it will not enter the atmosphere. Captured CO₂ is stored into

1. Artificial Sinks: Depleted oil and gas reservoirs, coalbeds, deep saline aquifers and underground mines.
2. Natural Sinks: Oceans, forests, soil etc.

A Carbon Sink is any natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period, thus lowering the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Carbon Sinks include:

1. Blue Carbon: It refers to coastal, aquatic and marine carbon sinks like tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses. These ecosystems are found all over the continent except Antarctica.
2. Green Carbon: It refers to the Carbon removed by photosynthesis and stored in the plants and soil of natural ecosystems.

Carbon Credit:

A Carbon Credit is a tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of Carbon or Carbon Dioxide equivalent (tCO_2e).

The value of Carbon Credit varies according to market conditions. One Carbon Credit is equal to one tonne of Carbon Dioxide. The concept of Carbon Credit originated in the Kyoto Protocol of UNFCCC.

An organization which produces one tonne less of Carbon or Carbon Dioxide equivalent than the standard level of Carbon Emissions allowed for its outfit or activity earns a Carbon Credit.

Developing Countries like India and China are emerging as the biggest sellers of Carbon Credit.

Carbon Offsetting:

Carbon Offsets are credits for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions made at another location, such as wind farms which create renewable energy and reduce the need for fossil fuel powered energy. Carbon Offsets are sold in metric tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent.

Carbon Pricing:

A Carbon Price is the cost applied to carbon pollution to encourage polluters to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases they emit into the atmosphere. There are two major types of Carbon Pricing:

1. Carbon Tax: It is a fee imposed on the burning of carbon-based fuels (coal, oil, gas etc.). Carbon Taxes intend to reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions by increasing the price of fossil fuels and reducing their demand. Carbon Tax is highly beneficial due to its predictability, easier to implement, understandable, lack of manipulation and option of rebates.
2. Emission Trading System (ETS): ETS, also known as “cap and trade” system, caps the total level of Green House Gases (GHGs) and allows those industries with low emissions to sell their extra allowances to large emitters.

Other mechanisms to price the Carbon Emissions:

1.       Results Based Climate Finance (RBCF): It is a funding approach where payments are made after pre-defined outcomes related to managing climate change, such as emission reductions, are delivered and verified.
2.       Internal Carbon Pricing: It is a tool an organization uses to internally guide its decision-making process in relation to climate change impacts, risks and opportunities.

Geo-engineering:

Climate geo-engineering refers to large scale schemes for intervention in the earth’s oceans, soils and the atmosphere with the aim of reducing the effects of climate change, usually temporarily.

Examples of Geo-engineering include:

1. Copying a volcano: A volcanic eruption releases sulphur into the atmosphere, which in turn could block sun’s radiation and cool the earth.
2. Shooting mirrors into space: This would deflect sunlight, thus reducing temperature.
3. Seeding the sea with iron: It will stimulate the growth of phytoplankton as they prefer iron. Phyto-planktons will then pull CO₂ out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis.
4. Whitening the clouds: These clouds will then reflect the solar radiation and cool the earth.
5. Cirrus Cloud Thinning and injection of Sulphate aerosol particles which are good reflectors of sunlight.
6. Building fake trees: Artificial trees essentially would be a series of sticky, resin-covered filters that would convert captured CO₂ to a carbonate called soda ash. Periodically, the soda ash would be washed off of the filters and collected for storage.

Miscellaneous Initiatives:

Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC):

• It is a voluntary initiative of 34 national and sub-national governments, over 163 businesses from a range of sectors and regions and over 82 strategic partners representing civil society organizations, NGOs and academic institutions.
• The CPLC Secretariat is administered by the World Bank Group.
• From India, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Indian Railways are the government level partners.

Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC):

• To Reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants (like Methane, Black Carbons and HFCs), it is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses etc. committed to reduce short lived pollutants with over 120 state and non-state partners.
• It was initiated in 2012 by governments on Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden and USA (no India) along with UNEP.

BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable forest Landscapes (ISFL):

• It is a multilateral fund, supported by donor governments and managed by the World Bank. It promotes and rewards reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased carbon sequestration.

Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA):

• It is a European Union Initiative which helps mainly Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) increase their resilience to climate change.