Carbon Cycle Case Studies

Question 1

USA vs France Energy

Answer 1

USA:
Fossil Fuels: 82%
Nuclear: 10%
Renewables: 8%

France:
Fossil Fuels: 46%
Nuclear: 40%
Renewables: 14%

The USA uses 84% domestic energy whereas France uses 50% domestic energy

USA consumes 10x more energy than France due to:
1. More people and land 2. More extreme climates

Question 2

Gazprom

Answer 2

Russian owned natural gas company responsible for 92% of Russian gas exports, exported to Europe via Nord stream and value of $34.5 billion

Geopolitics has affected their income as in 2023 Gazprom recorded a $7 billion loss due to the war in Ukraine causing sanctions and supply issues

Question 3

Coal India Ltd.

Answer 3

• The world’s largest coal producer, taken over by the government in 1973
• Responsible for 80% of India’s coal production
• Produced 494 million tonnes of coal in 2014

Question 4

Canadian Tar Sands Stakeholders

Answer 4

• Government (For - promotes economic development and energy security)
• Oil Companies (For - provides profits and promotes economic development)
• Pressure Groups (Against - Environmental concerns including carbon emissions, contaminating water sources and deforestation which declined animal populations like caribous up to 74% in some areas and could disrupt indigenous lives)
• Local Communities (Mixed - provides jobs but causes environmental damage and people moving to work there has caused a housing crisis)

Question 5

Arctic Circle

Answer 5

25% of undiscovered natural gas and oil reserves in the Arctic Circle

Creates competition between countries with overlapping territorial claims leading to an increased military presence amongst countries like the USA, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Russia

From 1979-2021 summer sea ice levels has decreased by 13% per decade

Question 6

5 Major Climate Change Meetings

Answer 6

1987: Montreal Protocol (All countries ratified the end of products which contributed to damaging the Ozone Layer)
1995: IPCC Second Assessment Report: Confirmed human influence on changing climate
1995: First COP meeting
1997: Kyoto Protocol (Required 37 industrialised countries and the EU to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5% below 1990 levels
2015: Paris Agreement (Aimed to keep global temperatures below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels)

Question 7

Indonesian Moratorium

Answer 7

97,000 hectares a year before the moratorium, mostly to clear space for palm oil plantations to export and for biofuels which harmed biodiversity and species like orangutans

The 2011 Indonesian Forest Moratorium banned issuing permits for primary forest clearance with $1 billion of funding from Norway and the UN

Reduced deforestation by 38% but only cut emissions by 4% compared to the expected 29%

Illegal logging was still prevalent despite the moratorium due to the technical difficulties of enforcing it