Future large scale release of Carbon Flashcards
(15 cards)
What are the many uncertainties about future global warming and contributing natural and human factors?
Natural:
The role of carbon sinks and their capacity to cope with changes
Possible feedback mechanisms such as carbon release from peatlands and permafrost peatlands releasing carbon that makes Earth’s climate warmer, which makes peatlands release more carbon, and so on.
Tipping points associated with forest dieback and the reversal of thermohaline circulation
How ENSO is affected
human:
Future rates of global economic and population growth
Planned reduction in global carbon emissions
Exploitation of renewable energy sources
Natural factors
Terrestrial:
Modelled to increase until 2050
When saturation is reached, they begin to act as sources:
Thawing of permafrost (tundra) in the Arctic
Shift of boreal forests to the north (as tundra thaws)
Tropical rainforests (currently at carbon capacity) may reduce their storage
Oceanic:
Increased store in sea grasses and algae, but overall reduction as sink because:
Tropical oceans have decreased carbon dioxide solubility as they are becoming warmer so absorb less
Decreased efficiency and slowing down of the biological pump
Human factors
Economic
industrial structure
energy needs
technology
Demographic (rising population)
Cultural lifestyle and ideology attitudes
Political governance - climate change policy
Top 5 countries that emit Co2
Clouds
Rise
Up
In
Rainy
Journeys
China = 35.4% = around 35%
Rest of world = 26.6% = around 27%
USA = 19%
India = 8.9% = around 9%
Russia = 6.3% = around 6%
Japan = 3.8% = around 4%
China overtook the USA as a result of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation which indicates a positive relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions
Adaptation strategies
Hard strategies which require technology e.g., wind farms
Soft strategies which involve legislation e.g., land use zoning
Water conservation and management - Adaptation
Benefits
Less resources used
Less groundwater abstraction
Changing attitudes e.g., use of more grey water
Risks
Efficiency and management cannot match any increases in demand for water
Promotion and enforcement of strategies by the government needed to change habits e.g., smart meters
Resilient agricultural systems - Adaptation
Benefits
High-tech, drought-tolerant species help resistance to climate change and increased diseases
Low-tech methods and better practices lead to healthier soils which may help carbon sequestration and water storage e.g., selective irrigation, crop rotation, agroforestry
More ‘indoor’ intensive farming
Risks
Expensive technology, seeds and breeds unavailable to subsistence farmers in developing countries
Indoor and intensive farming has high energy costs
Genetic modification is still controversial but still used to create resistant strains of rich and soya
Increasing food insecurity leads to countries looking for quick fixes
Land-use planning - Adaptation
Benefits
Land-use zoning, building restrictions in areas vulnerable to flooding
Enforcing strict run-off controls and soakaways
Risks
Public dislike
Abandoning high-risk areas is often impossible as they are often megacities
Would need strong governance, enforcement and compensation
Flood-risk management - Adaptation
Benefits
Hard management often used e.g., river dredging, flood defences
new passive flood defences that have been
built in Cockermouth to prevent another flood such as the one in 2009.
Simple changes can reduce flood risk e.g., permeable tarmac
Reducing deforestation and increasing afforestation upstream to absorb water and reduce flood risk downstream
Risks
Funding sources are often debated
Land owners will often demand compensation
Constant maintenance is required for hard management e.g., dredging
Solar radiation management - Adaptation
Benefits
Geoengineering involves ideas and plans to intervene to counteract global warming
Idea to use orbiting satellites to reflect some radiation back into space like a giant sunshade which would cool the Earth within months and be relatively cheap compared to mitigation strategies
Risks
These are untried and untested
Would not eliminate the worst effects of greenhouse gases such as acidification
Involves messing with a very complex system which could have unintended consequences
Would need to continue geoengineering for decades or centuries as there would be a rapid adjustment in the climate system if it just stopped suddenly
Mitigation strategies
The UK has led the way with many of these strategies but politics and austerity measures since 2011 has had an impact
Carbon taxation
Carbon price floor tax sets a minimum prices companies will have to pay to emit carbon dioxide which was unpopular and the policy was frozen in 2015
Lower road taxes for low-carbon cars were scrapped in 2015
In 2015, oil and gas exploration tax relief was expanded to support fossil fuels which led to the fracking debate
Renewable switching
Renewable energy (solar, wind and wave) provide intermittent electricity, while fossil fuels provide continuous power which is vital for our current demands
The Climate Change Levy, designed in 2001 to encourage investment in renewable energy was cut in 2015
Energy efficiency
The Green Deal scheme encouraged energy-saving improvements in homes e.g., energy efficient boilers and lights, improved insulation which was scrapped in 2015
Energy suppliers must comply with the Energy Company Obligation scheme to deliver energy efficient methods to households
Afforestation
Tree planting in the UK is increasing which helps carbon sequestration
Tree planting involves the Forestry Commission, charities (e.g., the National Trust and Woodland Trust), landowners and local authorities,
The Big Tree Plant campaign encourages communities to plant 1 million new trees (mostly in urban areas)
Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
Few actual geologic carbon capture and storage projects exist in the world, despite its potential
Canada’s Boundary Dam is the only large-scale working scheme
In 2015, the UK cancelled its investment into full-scale projects at gas and coal powered plants in Scotland and Yorkshire
Mitigation vs adaptation
Mitigation focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the most severe impacts of climate change
Adaptation focuses on adjusting to the changes that are already occurring or are expected to occur in the future
Mitigation tackles the underlying problem, while adaptation deals with the consequences.
Rebalancing the carbon cycle is seen as vital in preserving the Earth’s life systems
The IPCC stated in 2014 that it was possible to keep within the target of no more than a 2°C increase in average global temperatures if:
- Fossil fuel use was significantly reduced
- Fossil fuel use was totally eliminated by 2100
Mitigation strategies are considered vital to staying within the 2°C increase
What country is leading the way with mitigation strategies?
The UK has led the way with many of these strategies but politics and austerity measures since 2011 has had an impact
Thermokarst development
is a landscape-altering process where the melting of ice-rich permafrost leads to ground subsidence and the formation of distinctive landforms
Uncertainty about the role
Talik formation
refers to an area of unfrozen ground within a permafrost region, essentially a layer of unfrozen soil or sediment that exists beneath the seasonally frozen active layer
Uncertainty about the role
