Month: July 2024

Peer-reviewed Publications

Haas & Schoppek (2024): Next stop carbon dioxide removal? German climate policies and the risky road to negative emission technologies

Tobias Haas, Dorothea Elena Schoppek IN: Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, https://doi.org/10.1007/s41358-024-00379-5

Both the global and the German climate targets are ambitious given recent emission reduction rates. In addition to emission reduction measures, carbon dioxide removal has been increasingly discussed recently and initial measures have been developed to potentially scale-up carbon removals in order to meet net zero targets. In this article, the authors undertake a political economy-based analysis of the historical development and structural conditions of German climate policy measures and their enabling role for the emergence and strengthening of carbon dioxide removal policy options. 

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Hu et al. (2024): Bamboo charcoal application altered the mineralization process of soil organic carbon in different succession stages of karst forest land

Lening Hu, Xuehui Liu, Yaqi Xie, Yicheng Zeng, Huiping OU, Yuefeng You, Tieguang He IN: Forntiers in Environmental Science 12, 1411122, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1411122

As a soil amendment, Bamboo charcoal helps to contributes to the improvement of soil carbon sequestration, but its effect on the accumulation and transformation of different soil organic carbon in soil of karst forests is not clear. In this paper three distinct forest land succession stages were analysed in ordert to study the charcteristics of SOC mineralization, different carbon fractions of organic carbon, and soil enzyme activities.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Bergero et al. (2024): Biochar as a carbon dioxide removal strategy in integrated long-run mitigation scenarios

Candelaria Bergero, Marshall Wise, Patrick Lamers, Yong Wang, Maridee Weber IN: Environmental Research Letters 19 (7), 074076, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad52ab

Because of its technology readiness, relatively low cost, and potential co-benefits, the application of biochar to soils could be an effective CDR strategy. In this study the Global Change Analysis Model, a global multisector model, is used to analyze biochar deployment in the context of energy system uses of biomass with CDR under different carbon price trajectories. 

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Cortinovis et al. (2024): Scaling carbon removal systems: deploying direct air capture amidst Canada’s low-carbon transition

Stephanie Rose Cortinovis, Neil Craik, Juan Moreno-Cruz, Kasra Motlaghzadeh, Vanessa Schweizer IN: Front. Clim., 6, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2024.1338647

While the literature on DACCS and other CDR technologies acknowledges the path-dependent nature of policy development, it has tended to focus on abstract policy prescriptions that are not rooted in the specific political, social and physical (infrastructural) context of the implementing state. To address this gap, this paper provides a country-level study of the emerging DACCS policy regime in Canada. Drawing on the existing literature that identifies idealized (acontextual) policy objectives that support DACCS development and effective regulation, the authors identify the actionable policy objectives across six issue domains: general climate mitigation strategies; energy and resource constraints; carbon storage and transport regulation and infrastructure; financing scale-up and supporting innovation; removal and capture technology availability and regulation; and addressing social acceptability and public interest.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Buesseler et al. (2024): Next steps for assessing ocean iron fertilization for marine carbon dioxide removal

Ken Buesseler, Daniele Bianchi, Fei Chai, Jay T. Cullen, Margaret Estapa, Nicholas Hawco, Seth John, Dennis McGillicuddy, Paul J. Morris, Sara Nawaz, Jun Nishioka, Anh Pham, Kilaparti Ramakrishna, David Siegel, Sarah Smith, Deborah K. Steinberg, Kendra A. Turk-Kubo, Benjamin Twining, Romany Webb, Mark Wells, Angelicque White, Peng Xiu, Joo-Eun Yoon IN: Front. Clim., 6, doi: 10.3389/fclim.2024.1430957

Prior ocean iron fertilization (OIF) studies were not designed to quantify the durability of carbon (C) storage, nor how wise OIF might be as an mCDR approach. To quantify C sequestration, the authors introduce a metric called the “centennial tonne”, defined as 1000 kg of C isolated from atmospheric contact for at least 100 years. They set forth the activities needed to assess OIF from a scientific and technological perspective, and additionally, how it might be responsibly studied and potentially deployed.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Nature – Ampah et al. (2024): Deployment expectations of multi-gigatonne scale carbon removal could have adverse impacts on Asia’s energy-water-land nexus

Jeffrey Dankwa Ampah, Chao Jin, Haifeng Liu, Mingfa Yao, Sandylove Afrane, Humphrey Adun, Jay Fuhrman, David T. Ho, Haewon McJeon IN: Nature Communications, 15, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50594-5

Existing studies indicate that future global carbon dioxide (CO2) removal (CDR) efforts could largely be concentrated in Asia. However, there is limited understanding of how individual Asian countries and regions will respond to varying and uncertain scales of future CDR concerning their energy-land-water system. The authors address this gap by modeling various levels of CDR-reliant pathways under climate change ambitions in Asia.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Russel et al. (2024): Mine waste rock as a soil amendment for enhanced weathering, ecosystem services, and bioenergy production

 Mackenzie D. Russell, Katherine Heckman, Lei Pan, Xinyu Ye, Ronald S. Zalesny, Evan S. Kane IN: Front. Earth Sci., 12, doi: 10.3389/feart.2024.141443

Herein, the authors demonstrate that an ameliorated mining waste product can be effectively weathered in the soil environment when used as a soil amendment in conjunction with the cultivation of fast-growing willows (Salix matsudana Koidz. ⨯ S. alba L. ‘Austree’) in a pot study environment. Utilizing this locally sourced amendment minimizes emissions associated with grinding and transportation of enhanced weathering materials.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Sovacool et al. (2024): Minority groups, Indigenousness and Indigeneity, and place in social perceptions of future climate interventions

Benjamin K. Sovacool, Chad M. Baum, Livia Fritz IN: World Development, 183, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106719

The effect radical climate intervention technologies such as carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management could have on Indigenous peoples and minority groups, and those living in rural areas, could be profound and potentially calamitous. Drawing on a large-scale, cross-country set of nationally representative surveys (n = 30,284 participants, with at least 1,000 in each country) in 30 countries and 19 languages, this article examines public preferences for climate intervention technologies through the three dimensions of minority groups, Indigenousness, and place. The survey explores 10 climate intervention or geoengineering technologies: stratospheric aerosol injection, marine cloud brightening, space-based geoengineering, afforestation and reforestation, soil carbon sequestration, blue carbon and marine biomass, direct air capture with carbon storage, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, enhanced rock weathering, and biochar.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Hu et al. (2024): Bamboo charcoal application altered the mineralization process of soil organic carbon in different succession stages of karst forest land

Lening Hu, Xuehui Liu, Yaqi Xie, Yicheng Zeng, Huiping Ou, Yuefeng Yu, Tieguang He IN: Frontiers in Environmental Science, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1411122

As a soil amendment, Bamboo charcoal helps to contributes to the improvement of soil carbon sequestration, but its effect on the accumulation and transformation of different soil organic carbon in soil of karst forests is not clear. The research focused on three distinct forest land succession stages: virgin forest, secondary forest, and planted forest. A 60-day indoor constant temperature culture experiment was conducted, applying bamboo charcoal to the soil of the three forest lands at four different addition ratios: 0%, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 4.0%. The analysis aimed to study the characteristics of SOC mineralization, different carbon fractions of organic carbon, and soil enzyme activity.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Zhu et al. (2024): Integrating bicarbonate-based microalgal production with alkaline sewage for ocean negative carbon emissions

Chenba Zhu, Chen Hu, Jihua Liu, Zhanyou Chi, Nianzhi Jiao IN: Trends in Biotechnology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.06.015

Using sewage (wastewater) for ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) has been considered as one promising ocean negative carbon emissions (ONCE) approach due to its high carbon sequestration efficiency and low environmental risk. To make this process more profitable and sustainable, this perspective proposes to integrate bicarbonate-based microalgal production and sewage alkalinity enhancement for ONCE. In this concept, the spent aqueous alkaline bicarbonate-based microalgal medium is cheap or even free for OAE, while the produced microalgae with high value-added compositions make this process more profitable. 

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