fossilsworld

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According to the National Academies of Sciences, 81 percent of the total energy used in the United States comes from coal, oil, and natural gas. This is the energy that is used to heat and provide electricity to homes and businesses and to run cars and factories. Unfortunately, fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource and waiting millions of years for new coal, oil, and natural gas deposits to form is not a realistic solution. Fossil fuels are also responsible for almost three-fourths of the emissions from human activities in the last 20 years. Now, scientists and engineers have been looking for ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and to make burning these fuels cleaner and healthier for the environment.

Scientists across the country and around the world are trying to find solutions to fossil fuel problems so that there is enough fuel and a healthy environment to sustain human life and activities in the future. The United States Department of Energy is working on technologies to make commercially available natural-gas-powered vehicles. They are also trying to make coal burning and oil drilling cleaner. Researchers at Stanford University in California have been using greener technologies to figure out a way to burn fossil fuels while lessening their impact on the environment. One solution is to use more natural gas, which emits 50 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than coal does. The Stanford team is also trying to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it underground—a process called carbon capture and sequestration. Scientists at both Stanford and the University of Bath in the United Kingdom are trying something completely new by using carbon dioxide and sugar to make renewable plastic. Source education national geographic.com

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Fossil fuels are made from decomposing plants and animals. These fuels are found in the Earth's crust and contain carbon and hydrogen, which can be burned for energy. Coal, oil, and natural gas are examples of fossil fuels. Source

National geographic .org

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Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at New York University not involved with the report, welcomed its attempt to come up with a comprehensive view of the investments needed.

"Climate policy means massive investment, and a massive rejigging of market forces from the current high-carbon and low-efficiency path onto a low-carbon and high-efficiency one," Mr Wagner said.

"We just spent trillions of dollars because of Covid relief. So, would it be feasible? Yes. Would it involve massive changes? Of course, that too."

"Where is the money coming from? Ratepayers, taxpayers or shareholders?"source bbc.com

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cost of getting to net zero - when carbon dioxide emissions are completely reduced or offset - will be $9.2tn (£6.8tn).

The world is already spending $5.7tn a year to lower the impact of fossil fuels and use alternatives.

However, an extra $3.5tn, every year from 2021 to 2050, will need to be put towards alternative energy sources and land use including agriculture to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, it said.

That is the equivalent of half of all corporate profits in 2020. It is the equivalent of one quarter of all tax revenue, or 7% of household spending.

This money will be used on "the deployment of new physical assets and to the decarbonisation of existing assets", McKinsey said.

"It does not include spending to support other adjustments - for example, to reskill and redeploy workers, compensate for stranded assets, or account for the loss of value pools in specific parts of the economy."

The consultancy added it has accounted for the cost of keeping supply chains stable during the energy transition, as well as broad energy investment.

It said its calculation was much higher than most other estimates by economists but stressed such investments could be lucrative and the long-term costs of not doing enough to tackle climate change would be greater.

More than 130 countries have pledged net zero emissions by 2050.

While the numbers encouraging, large carbon dioxide emitters such as China and India aren't part of the group.

There are also concerns that countries may shut down their energy-intensive industries, and import these goods from other countries.

That means even if they get to net-zero, the world's emissions will not be reduced in the process. Source bbc.com

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Trillions of dollars need to be spent every year for almost three decades to hit net zero targets, according to consultancy McKinsey.

On top of current spending, the equivalent of half of all corporate profits will have to be invested to tackle global warming, it says.

McKinsey highlights that gaining acceptance will be tough, especially from those paying energy bills.

But the alternative is more extreme weather, experts have warned. Source bbc.com

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Changing energy and transport are key parts of curbing climate change

The UK government must drive down energy bills and reduce climate-warming emissions by insulating more homes, a report says.

Official advisors the Climate Change Committee says the government's current insulation programme is "shocking".

It says consumers are paying £40 extra a year on bills because of previous cuts to the home renovation programme.

The committee also says ministers must harness the Ukraine fuel crisis to push ahead with renewables. Source bbc need

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The war in Ukraine is seeing a renewed focus on fossil fuels by many countries who are worried about energy security in the wake of Russia's invasion.

A number of countries have signalled that they will burn more coal in the short term, while others are seeking to boost gas imports.

The European Union as a whole is seeking to end reliance on Russian supplies of oil and gas by 2027 but leaders acknowledge this will undoubtedly see more fossil fuel used over the next three years or so.

In his speech, Mr Guterres repeated his view that this short-term response might close the window on a key climate goal.

In the Paris climate agreement, nations agreed to try to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5C this century, compared to pre-industrial times.

But that means that emissions of climate warming gases have to be essentially slashed in half by 2030. Source bbc.com

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In a video message to the sixth Austrian world summit meeting in Vienna, the UN secretary again took countries to task for their continued reliance on fossil fuels.

National plans to reduce carbon emissions were "simply not good enough," Mr Guterres said, pointing to a disconnect between the views of scientists and citizens demanding action and governments that are "dragging their feet."

BBC.com

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Spending money on new coal, oil and gas as a result of the war in Ukraine is "delusional" according to the UN Secretary General.

Many countries want to increase their own fossil fuel production in order to depend less on Russian supplies.

Mr Guterres says that our global energy mix is broken, and more coal will only reinforce the "scourge of war, pollution and climate catastrophe."

The UN chief says that renewable energy is the peace plan of the 21st century.

World is 'cooked' if we carry on with coal, US says

Ukraine war prompts fossil fuel 'gold rush'

Microplastics found in fresh Antarctic snow

Australia methane emissions hugely under-reported. Source bbc.com

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A new study says that the world is using more fossil fuels than ever as the transition to green energy stalls.

The Renewables 2022 Global Status Report says the share of wind and solar in the global energy mix has risen minimally in the last decade.

While renewables boomed in the electricity sector last year, they didn't meet the overall rise in demand.

In transport, which accounts for a third of energy, renewables provided less than 4%.

Source bbc.com

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A carbon credit is a permit that allows the owner to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. One credit permits the emission of one ton of carbon dioxide or the equivalent in other greenhouse gases. The carbon credit is half of a so-called "cap-and-trade" program.

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Reaching net zero will involve moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy for our power, and abandoning vehicles run on petrol and diesel, in favour of those powered by electricity and hydrogen.

Gas central heating will need to be replaced by alternative sources, such as heat pumps.

Reaching net zero could also mean flying far less in future, and eating less red meat.

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What does 'net zero' mean?

Net zero means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Achieving it means reducing emissions as much as possible, as well as balancing out any that remain by removing an equivalent amount.

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) are released when we burn oil, gas and coal for our homes, factories and transport. Methane is produced through farming and landfill. These gases cause global warming by trapping the sun's energy.

Meanwhile, rapid deforestation across the world means there are fewer trees and plants to absorb CO2.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, 197 countries agreed to try to keep temperature rises "well below" 1.5C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Source

Experts say that to achieve this, net zero must be reached by 2050.

A really simple guide to climate chang source bbb.com

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What is net zero?

Put simply, net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance.

Why is net zero important?

The science shows clearly that in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a livable planet, global temperature increase needs to be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Currently, the Earth is already about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s, and emissions continue to rise. To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement – emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

How can net zero be achieved?

Transitioning to a net-zero world is one of the greatest challenges humankind has faced. It calls for nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, consume, and move about. The energy sector is the source of around three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions today and holds the key to averting the worst effects of climate change. Replacing polluting coal, gas and oil-fired power with energy from renewable sources, such as wind or solar, would dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

Is there a global effort to reach net zero?

Yes, a growing coalition of countries, cities, businesses and other institutions are pledging to get to net-zero emissions. More than 70 countries, including the biggest polluters – China, the United States, and the European Union – have set a net-zero target, covering about 76% of global emissions. Over 1,200 companies have put in place science-based targets in line with net zero, and more than 1000 cities, over 1000 educational institutions, and over 400 financial institutions have joined the Race to Zero, pledging to take rigorous, immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030. Source in.org

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Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal or by eliminating emissions from society.source Wikipedia

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Carbon Credit Token (CCT), a digital climate project that provides access to the regulated carbon credit industry through blockchain technology, has obtained listing rights on the MEXC Global Exchange. This marks the second exchange platform listing of CCT in the last three months after the token’s debut in March on BitMart. Source coin quota.com

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India needs to form Green Hydrogen Corridors, and governments can look at providing grants to startups and support entrepreneurs to promote green hydrogen, NITI Aayog said on Wednesday.

In a report titled 'Harnessing Green Hydrogen - Opportunities for Deep Decarbonisation in India', the NITI Aayog suggested that there is a need to facilitate investment through demand aggregation and dollar-based bidding for green hydrogen. Source niti aayog