climate change mitigation Flashcards
what is carbon sequestration?
capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and putting it into long term storage
2 types= geological and terrestrial
what is the mitigation of climate change?
the efforts to cut or prevent the emission of ghg-> limit the magnitude of future warming
How much have temperatures risen since pre-industrial times?
2024- first year to exceed 1.5 degrees hotter than pre-industrial levels
What would happen if earth’s temperature increased by 2 more degrees?
- sea levels could rise 1-2m
- almost no coral reefs
- the arctic would be completely devoid of ice in summer
What was the 2015 Paris agreement? how successful was this?
2015 international treaty on climate change- adopted by 196 parties-> world leaders committed to limiting temperature rise well below 2 degrees (through long term plans to reduce carbon emissions)
Evaluations= Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)-> policy changes and investments in renewable energy BUT many countries failed to meet their targets e.g. Australia, Brazil-> experts= not enough enforcement to make a difference
what is carbon capture and storage? how successful is this?
CCS= technology (e.g. stored in geological rock form/transported through pipe into storage) captures CO2 emissions produced through generating electricity and industrial processes d2 fossil fuels-> prevents CO2 from entering atmosphere
Evaluations= Captures up to 90% of CO2 emissions BUT doesn’t discourage companies from using fossil fuels-> long term solution? Expensive + doesn’t consider energy sources that are environmentally friendly
what is biological sequestration? how successful is this?
BS= the net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere through afforestation, protecting vegetative biomass and soils e.g. Microorganisms and plant matter contribute to carbon-rich soil-> traps CO2 long term e.g. Paris expect to plant 170,000 trees in the next 5 years
Evaluations= carbon sink, improves air quality, generates rural income BUT how realistic on a wide scale e.g. d2 urban sprawl etc
how has changing land use acted as a mitigation strategy against climate change?
Effective management of grasslands (e.g. reducing grazing) improves soil health and carbon sequestration, healthy peatlands capture CO2 from the atmos d2 photosynthesis (plants that grow on peatlands don’t fully decomp under wet conditions-> do not release carbon)
Evaluations= grasslands can mitigate 810 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, peatlands store more carbon than all other vegetation types combined (thus more effective than bs?)
