WCC: Water, Carbon and Climate - Human Interventions and Mitigating the Impacts of Climate Change Flashcards
Human interventions in the carbon cycle designed to influence carbon transfers and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
What does mitigate mean?
Making the impacts less severe
What is afforestation?
The establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no previous tree cover
By what percentage do scientists estimate that CCS can cut global carbon emissions by?
up to 19%
What does IPCC stand for?
Intergovernmental panel on climate change
Key points of 1992 UNFCCC treaty
General agreement to stabilise levels of human induced greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere to prevent climate change
No binding limits
Key points of 1997 Kyoto protocol
Binding national targets for developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emission
Not all signed up, declined to make it legally enforceable.
key points of 2010 cancun, Mexico agreement
Identified max average global temp rise of 2C on pre-industrial levels as a target
‘Green fund’ to assist developing countries
key points of 2015 Paris conference
Attempt to establish tough, binding greenhouse gas emission targets on all UN states
Report on efforts every 5 years
Max temp rise 1.5 degrees C target
key points of 2016 Marrakech conference
133 countries including UK agreed to be bound by the 2015 Paris agreements
What does FSC stand for?
Forestry Stewardship council
When and why was the IPCC founded?
1988, to monitor and analyse climate change science and advise the UN
What 3 things might carbon offset payments involve?
Paying for existing forests to be protected
Developing renewable energy alternatives
Planting trees
By how much does Brazil aim to decrease deforestation by?
80%
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What are the 3 strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change?
Carbon capture and storage
Modifying land use change
Political initiatives
What is carbon capture and storage?
A technology used to capture CO2 emissions produced from fossil fuel use in electricity generation and industrial processes
What are the 3 parts of the CCS chain?
Capture
Transportation
Storage
Name and locate an example of a CCS plant
Boundary Dam in Saskatchewan, Canada
What 3 methods are used in CCS to capture carbon?
Pre-combustion capture
Post-combustion capture
Oxy-fuel combustion
What is done in CCS to captured CO2 before it can be transported?
It is cooled and compressed into a high pressure liquid form known as supercritical CO2
What form is CO2 transported in during CCS?
Supercrtitical CO2
How is CO2 transported in CCS?
By pipeline or ship
How is CO2 stored in CCS?
It is directly injected into sedimentary rocks
Where can CO2 be stored in CCS?
Depleted oil and gas fields
Saline aquifers
Thin coal seams
What makes CCS economically viabe?
The high pressure of injected CO2 will drive out otherwise inaccessible oil or gas
What is Boundary Dam?
A coal-fired power station complex that has been retrofitted to capture 90% of its CO2 output
Where is the captured carbon from Boundary Dam currently being stored?
Local salt formations
Where will the carbon captured from Boundary Dam eventually be stored?
A 1500m deep oil-bearing formation
How expensive was Boundary Dam’s CCS unit to build?
$800 million
What percentage of Boundary Dam’s power output does the CCS unit consume for capture and compression?
21%
What are the disadvantages of CCS?
Requires a lot of power
Expensive to build
Increases oil production
Why is CCS unlikely to be a successful strategy to mitigate against climate change in the long term?
It’s economic viability depends on using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery
What 3 rural land uses can be modified to mitigate against climate change?
Grasslands
Croplands
Forested lands
How much CO2 could potentially be prevented from reaching the atmosphere by modifying grasslands?
810 million tonnes by 2030
What 4 ways can soil carbon storage in grasslands be improved?
Reduced overstocking of grazing animals
Adding manures and fertilisers
Revegetation
Irrigation
What 3 ways can adding manures and fertilisers to both grasslands and croplands increase SOC levels?
More organic material is added to the soil.
Increased plant productivity to increase plant litter and underground biomass.
Stimulation of soil biodiversity with organisms that can degrade the organic material.
How does both revegetation and irrigation in grasslands increase SOC levels?
Increased plant productivity to increase plant litter and underground biomass, which can add to SOC levels.
What 5 techniques can be used to increase SOC in croplands?
Mulching Reduced or no tillage Use of animal manure or chemical fertilisers Rotation of cash crops Carbon farming
How does mulching increase SOC in croplands?
It adds organic matter to the soil
What 2 ways doing reduced tillage increase SOC in croplands?
It avoids the accelerated decomposition of organic matter and depletion of soil carbon that can otherwise occur.
It can prevent the break up of soil aggregates that protect carbon.
What are the 3 ways to improve carbon stores in forested lands?
Protection
Afforestation and reforestation
Plantation forests
What is carbon farming?
Where one type of crop is replaced by another that has greater productivity and can absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere.
What are 3 ways to protect forests?
Encouraging consumers to buy FSC certified wood
Carbon offset payments made by countries, organisations and individuals
Selective logging and replanting
What government policies have Brazil put in place to protect forest lands?
Landowners are required to preserve 80% of virgin forest
Grants for agricultural enterprises are prohibited in areas where deforestation occurs.
Protected reserves have been created in the Amazon
How successful has Brazil been in protecting forested land? Give evidence
Very successful - Brazil has reduced deforestation by 70%
Give evidence to show how protecting forested land improves carbon stores.
Brazil reduced deforestation by 70% since 2005 and reduce its carbon emissions more than any other country in the world as a result.
Name 7 political initiatives since 1988 involved in mitigating the impacts of climate change. When did they occur?
Foundation of IPCC - 1988 UNFCCC treaty - 1992 Kyoto protocol - 1997 Cancun agreement - 2010 Doha conference - 2012 Paris conference - 2015 Marrakech conference - 2016
