Energy use grew at 2.9% in 2018, the largest rise since 2010. It’s what happens when economies grow. But gas, oil and coal's contribution to that growth saw global CO2 emissions rise by 2% in 2018, the largest year-on-year increase in seven years. Wind and solar growth, driven by China though slowing in the US, EU, and India, achieved its second fastest rate on record - but still lagged behind gas additions. These are not the trends we need to … [Read more...]
New gas-to-methanol technology OxE could end oil well “flaring”
Oil wells also release natural gas. But it’s burnt off on site whenever the economics of collecting and piping it don’t add up (gas can’t use the existing petroleum infrastructure). What if it could be converted into methanol, says Nichole Liebov at the University of Virginia. She describes a new process called oxyesterification (OxE) that converts methane (the main constituent of natural gas) into methanol cost effectively at low temperatures … [Read more...]
EU plans first satellite fleet to monitor CO2 in every country
The speed and policies required for a successful transition depend on our ability to measure emissions accurately and globally. That’s why Europe is readying a new fleet of three satellites to monitor CO2 emissions at every point on earth, creating the first worldwide system capable of measuring at city and even power plant level in close to real time, reports Karl Mathiesen at Climate Home News. It will mean, for example, a city can measure how … [Read more...]
Carbon Capture: Can CO2-EOR really provide carbon-negative oil?
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) injects CO2 into oil reservoirs, increasing the pressure and forcing the oil out. 20% of global oil production uses EOR. But if that CO2 doesn’t stay underground it hasn’t been captured. If it was itself extracted from natural underground CO2, there is no benefit – or worse. Ideally, it should come from already captured CO2. But most oil wells are nowhere near a CCUS (carbon capture, usage and storage) facility: in the … [Read more...]
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – GCCA’s Claude Lorea: “How can we provide the world with the concrete it needs in a sustainable way?”
Concrete is, after water, the most consumed resource on the planet and no other man-made material is more widely used. Without it, there are no buildings, bridges, dams or roads – no Sydney Opera House, no Hoover Dam or Golden Gate Bridge, no Pantheon in Rome. It is no surprise, then, that it has significant environmental impacts. More than 4bn tonnes of cement, the main ingredient of concrete, are produced every year leading to between 5 and 8% … [Read more...]
EU should target carbon dioxide removal as part of net zero emissions strategy
Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies are still in their infancy. However, they are an essential part of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5-2°C to meet the Paris Agreement’s objectives. So what is the best way to ensure CDR is ramped up at the right speed to hit those targets, and avoid the “moral hazard” of the promise of future CDR giving others an excuse to fail with their straightforward carbon reduction? Oliver Geden, Glen … [Read more...]
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