#industrial greenhouse gas emissions

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Grist:

Recent data analysis conducted by a human rights advocacy organization found that nearly a dozen international finance institutions directed over $3 billion to animal agriculture in 2023. The majority of those funds — upwards of $2.27 billion — came from development banks and went towards projects that support factory farming, a practice that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as well as biodiversity loss. 

The researchers behind the analysis are calling on the development banks — which include the International Finance Corporation, or IFC, part of the World Bank — to scrutinize the climate and environmental impacts of the projects they fund, especially in light of the World Bank’s climate pledges.

The analysis comes from the International Accountability Project, which reviewed disclosure documents from 15 development banks and the Green Climate Fund, established in 2010 at COP16 to support climate action in developing countries. Researchers found that 10 of those development banks, as well as the Green Climate Fund, financed projects directly supporting animal agriculture. The data serves as the basis for a new white paper from Stop Financing Factory Farming, or S3F, a coalition of advocacy groups that seeks to block development banks from funding agribusiness, released last month. 

The International Accountability Project, which advocates for human and environmental rights, hopes that its findings will pressure international financial institutions like the World Bank to see the contradiction in financing industrial animal agriculture projects while also promising to help reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Agriculture accounts for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, so much so that research has suggested limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) is not possible without changing how we grow food and what we eat. Within the agricultural sector, livestock production is the main source of greenhouse emissions — as ruminants like cows and sheep release methane into the atmosphere whenever they burp. 

[indizombie]

Tobacco already kills eight million people every year, and, irrespective of any impact of newer products like e-cigarettes, the huge global burden of tobacco mortality and morbidity can be expected to remain for decades to come. Tobacco growing, manufacturing, distribution, and use, all contribute to global warming through the emission of greenhouse gases. In fact, the tobacco product life cycle releases an estimated 80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent every single year. The tobacco industry’s emissions are larger than those for entire countries, including Denmark, Croatia and Afghanistan, and are comparable to emissions from the oil, fast fashion and meat industries.

‘Plastics, the Environment and the Tobacco Industry’, Tobacco Tactics

[plethoraworldatlas]

When it comes to taking the blame for climate change, the energy sector absorbs most of the heat. But more and more, the public is learning about animal agriculture’s substantial role. The raising of animals for slaughter produces 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, approaching half of the energy sector’s 34%. One species in particular looms large in this picture: Around 10% of all global greenhouse gas emissions are produced by the cattle industry.

As awareness grows around the eco-impact of raising cows for meat, the beef industry has been working hard to maintain public confidence. At the center of its efforts is a push to sell consumers on the idea of “climate friendly” or “low-carbon” beef. Tyson’s new Brazen Beef is advertised as a “climate smart” innovation; while the banner of “regenerative beef” — claimed to actually benefit the land — has been taken up by McDonald’s and Walmart.

But what do these buzzwords actually mean? Can beef ever be “climate friendly”?

Tyson Foods is one of the largest meat processing companies in the world. In recent years, it has found itself under pressure to cut eco-impacts and improve its sustainability efforts. It has responded with the introduction of Brazen Beef, which uses cattle “enrolled in Tyson Foods’ Climate-Smart Beef Program for emission reduction from pasture to production,” according to the product’s website. The baseline and metrics needed to measure this 10% reduction, however, is far from clear. “There’s no way that the math even works out,” says Jan Dutkiewicz, a political economist who studies the agriculture industry.

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In an investigation for Vox, Kenny Torrella reached a similar conclusion. “Tyson’s climate-friendly beef website is full of earnest marketing phrases like this one: ‘If we’re showing up for the climate, then we’ve got to show our work.’ Yet that ‘work’ is nowhere to be found,” he noted.

Tyson told the Progressive Grocer that the company is “trying to be upbeat and different” with a campaign that speaks definitively to younger millennial and Gen Z consumers, the market sector most concerned with the impacts of climate change. The Brazen Beef website is packed with imagery of young adults being active, social and happy.

Launching products like Brazen Beef, says Dutkiewicz, is largely about landing some good press — without much fear of being called to account. “The average food consumer doesn’t spend time studying food,” he says.

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Land use is also already a major concern when it comes to beef production, making the scalability of regenerative agriculture difficult to conceive. Cattle farming occupies 41% of all land in the U.S., even though 99% of livestock are raised on factory farms. Over 40 million cattle and calves are slaughtered for food annually in the U.S. Transitioning that number of cows to eating grass, says Carter, would require 270% more land. Making regenerative beef viable as a climate-friendly solution would also require significant reduction in overall beef consumption. Decreased consumption, however, rarely appears in the discourse around regenerative agriculture.

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Re-wilding is the practice of restoring natural habitats ravaged by animal farming by reintroducing native flora and fauna, including native ruminants such as bison. “Cattle can be considered an invasive species,” says senior food campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, Jennifer Molidor. Where regenerative ranchers attempt to minimize impacts with rotational patterns and smaller grazing herds, “they fall far short of promoting biodiversity compared to native animals, and more often than not have severe impacts on soil health, water quality and make a monumental contribution to accelerating climate change.”Improving ecosystem integrity is an important part of re-wilding, Molidor explains. It’s also one, she says, “many food producers overlook or misunderstand when attempting to farm in better harmony with the land.” Re-wilding “can heal soil that has been harmed by agricultural degradation and pollution and restore native habitat and improve wildlife connectivity.” But that process is fundamentally incompatible with the cattle industry in its current size and form. Concludes Molidor, “The more cattle we produce, the more the land suffers.”

[africaindustrializationday]

Fixing just energy transition partnerships.

How to make just energy transition partnerships (JETP) truly inclusive, socially just and sustainable? This side event explores how Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) can be more inclusive, socially just, and sustainable. JETPs launched by the G7 to help Global South countries with growing emissions to decarbonize, have started in South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal. The session discusses how to enhance the participation of all stakeholders, i.e.

Watch Fixing just energy transition partnerships!

[trendynewsnow]

Court Overturns Landmark Climate Ruling Against Shell

In a significant legal development, an appeals court in the Netherlands has overturned a landmark ruling that mandated Shell, Europe’s largest energy company, to reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent by the year 2030. This original ruling, handed down by a district court in The Hague in 2021, was considered groundbreaking and had the potential to inspire similar legal challenges worldwide. It…

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Figure 8.14 shows the relative contribution of the major GHGs to radiative forcing (RF).

"Environmental Chemistry: A Global Perspective", 4e - Gary W. VanLoon & Stephen J. Duffy

[priteshwemarketresearch]

Green Ammonia Market Statistics, Segment, Trends and Forecast to  2033

The Green Ammonia Market: A Sustainable Future for Agriculture and Energy

As the world pivots toward sustainable practices, the green ammonia market is gaining momentum as a crucial player in the transition to a low-carbon economy. But what exactly is green ammonia, and why is it so important? In this blog, we'll explore the green ammonia market, its applications, benefits, and the factors driving its growth.

Request Sample PDF Copy:https://wemarketresearch.com/reports/request-free-sample-pdf/green-ammonia-market/1359

What is Green Ammonia?

Green ammonia is ammonia produced using renewable energy sources, primarily through the electrolysis of water to generate hydrogen, which is then combined with nitrogen from the air. This process eliminates carbon emissions, setting green ammonia apart from traditional ammonia production, which relies heavily on fossil fuels.

Applications of Green Ammonia

Agriculture

One of the most significant applications of green ammonia is in agriculture. Ammonia is a key ingredient in fertilizers, and its sustainable production can help reduce the carbon footprint of farming. By using green ammonia, farmers can produce food more sustainably, supporting global food security while minimizing environmental impact.

Energy Storage

Green ammonia can also serve as an effective energy carrier. It can be synthesized when there is surplus renewable energy and later converted back into hydrogen or directly used in fuel cells. This capability makes it an attractive option for balancing supply and demand in renewable energy systems.

Shipping Fuel

The maritime industry is under increasing pressure to reduce emissions. Green ammonia has emerged as a potential zero-emission fuel for ships, helping to decarbonize one of the most challenging sectors in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

Benefits of Green Ammonia

Environmental Impact

By eliminating carbon emissions during production, green ammonia significantly reduces the environmental impact associated with traditional ammonia. This aligns with global efforts to combat climate change and achieve sustainability goals.

Energy Security

Investing in green ammonia can enhance energy security. As countries strive to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, green ammonia offers a renewable alternative that can be produced locally, minimizing reliance on imported fuels.

Economic Opportunities

The growth of the green ammonia market presents numerous economic opportunities, including job creation in renewable energy sectors, research and development, and new supply chain dynamics. As demand increases, investments in infrastructure and technology will drive innovation.

Factors Driving the Growth of the Green Ammonia Market

Regulatory Support

Governments worldwide are implementing policies and incentives to promote the adoption of green technologies. These regulations often include subsidies for renewable energy production and carbon pricing mechanisms, making green ammonia more competitive.

Rising Demand for Sustainable Solutions

With consumers and businesses becoming increasingly aware of their environmental impact, the demand for sustainable solutions is on the rise. Green ammonia aligns with this trend, providing an eco-friendly alternative to traditional ammonia.

Advancements in Technology

Ongoing advancements in electrolysis and ammonia synthesis technologies are making the production of green ammonia more efficient and cost-effective. As these technologies mature, they will further enhance the viability of green ammonia in various applications.

Conclusion

The green ammonia market represents a promising avenue for sustainable development across agriculture, energy, and transportation sectors. As technology advances and regulatory support strengthens, green ammonia is poised to become a cornerstone of the global transition to a greener economy. Investing in this market not only contributes to environmental preservation but also opens up new economic opportunities for innovation and growth.

[mohitbisresearch]

The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market has emerged as a crucial and rapidly growing sector within the aviation industry, driven by the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

[farmerstrend]

Kenya Dairy Board’s 10-Year Plan: More Milk, Sustainability, and Climate Action

The Kenya Dairy Board unveils a 10-year plan to transform the dairy sector by focusing on sustainability, increasing milk production by 2.5 billion litres, and ensuring environmental and economic benefits for farmers. Kenya’s 10-year Dairy Industry Sustainability Roadmap aims to produce an additional 2.5 billion litres of milk annually, promoting sustainable farming, reducing greenhouse gas…

[rjzimmerman]

National fossil fuel production rose substantially from 2015 to 2022, but total methane and overall carbon emissions from that activity actually fell. (Ceres and Clean Air Task Force)

Excerpt from this story from Canary Media:

The U.S. energy industry continues to extract record amounts of fossil fuels, despite climate activists’ calls to ​“keep it in the ground.” But while oil and gas extraction has increased in recent years, the carbon emissions from that industrial activity have actually fallen, a new analysis has found.

Even as fossil gas production rose by 40 percent from 2015 to 2022, methane emissions from gas extraction fell by 37 percent, according to a study of Environmental Protection Agency data published today by climate nonprofits Ceres and the Clean Air Task Force. That finding suggests that when energy companies want to, they can effectively reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas with 82 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over 20 years, and 30 times the warming potential over 100 years. Overall greenhouse gas emissions, which count the industry’s considerable carbon dioxide releases, also fell, but by a more modest 14 percent.

There’s a clear playbook for tackling the planet-warming emissions that result from combusting fossil fuels in power plants or vehicles. But the extraction of those fuels happens farther from public view, and adds up to a major source of industrial emissions. Indeed, oil and gas extraction and refining emitted more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than any other industrial subsector last year, the Rhodium Group reports. And while power and transportation emissions are falling, heavy industry is on track to become the largest emitting sector within the next decade.

[jcmarchi]

Engineers 3D print sturdy glass bricks for building structures

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/engineers-3d-print-sturdy-glass-bricks-for-building-structures/

Engineers 3D print sturdy glass bricks for building structures

What if construction materials could be put together and taken apart as easily as LEGO bricks? Such reconfigurable masonry would be disassembled at the end of a building’s lifetime and reassembled into a new structure, in a sustainable cycle that could supply generations of buildings using the same physical building blocks.

That’s the idea behind circular construction, which aims to reuse and repurpose a building’s materials whenever possible, to minimize the manufacturing of new materials and reduce the construction industry’s “embodied carbon,” which refers to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with every process throughout a building’s construction, from manufacturing to demolition.

Now MIT engineers, motivated by circular construction’s eco potential, are developing a new kind of reconfigurable masonry made from 3D-printed, recycled glass. Using a custom 3D glass printing technology provided by MIT spinoff Evenline, the team has made strong, multilayered glass bricks, each in the shape of a figure eight, that are designed to interlock, much like LEGO bricks.

In mechanical testing, a single glass brick withstood pressures similar to that of a concrete block. As a structural demonstration, the researchers constructed a wall of interlocking glass bricks. They envision that 3D-printable glass masonry could be reused many times over as recyclable bricks for building facades and internal walls.

Play video

Video: Courtesy of Evenline

“Glass is a highly recyclable material,” says Kaitlyn Becker, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “We’re taking glass and turning it into masonry that, at the end of a structure’s life, can be disassembled and reassembled into a new structure, or can be stuck back into the printer and turned into a completely different shape. All this builds into our idea of a sustainable, circular building material.”

“Glass as a structural material kind of breaks people’s brains a little bit,” says Michael Stern, a former MIT graduate student and researcher in both MIT’s Media Lab and Lincoln Laboratory, who is also founder and director of Evenline. “We’re showing this is an opportunity to push the limits of what’s been done in architecture.”

Becker and Stern, with their colleagues, detail their glass brick design in a study appearing today in the journal Glass Structures and Engineering. Their MIT co-authors include lead author Daniel Massimino and Charlotte Folinus, along with Ethan Townsend at Evenline.

Lock step

The inspiration for the new circular masonry design arose partly in MIT’s Glass Lab, where Becker and Stern, then undergraduate students, first learned the art and science of blowing glass.

“I found the material fascinating,” says Stern, who later designed a 3D printer capable of printing molten recycled glass — a project he took on while studying in the mechanical engineering department. “I started thinking of how glass printing can find its place and do interesting things, construction being one possible route.”

Meanwhile, Becker, who accepted a faculty position at MIT, began exploring the intersection of manufacturing and design, and ways to develop new processes that enable innovative designs.

“I get excited about expanding design and manfucaturing spaces for challenging materials with interesting characteristics, like glass and its optical properties and recyclability,” Becker says. “As long as it’s not contaminated, you can recycle glass almost infinitely.”

She and Stern teamed up to see whether and how 3D-printable glass could be made into a structural masonry unit as sturdy and stackable as traditional bricks. For their new study, the team used the Glass 3D Printer 3 (G3DP3), the latest version of Evenline’s glass printer, which pairs with a furnace to melt crushed glass bottles into a molten, printable form that the printer then deposits in layered patterns.

The team printed prototype glass bricks using soda-lime glass that is typically used in a glassblowing studio. They incorporated two round pegs onto each printed brick, similar to the studs on a LEGO brick. Like the toy blocks, the pegs enable bricks to interlock and assemble into larger structures. Another material placed between the bricks prevent scratches or cracks between glass surfaces but can be removed if a brick structure were to be dismantled and recycled, also allowing bricks to be remelted in the printer and formed into new shapes. The team decided to make the blocks into a figure-eight shape.

“With the figure-eight shape, we can constrain the bricks while also assembling them into walls that have some curvature,” Massimino says.

Stepping stones

The team printed glass bricks and tested their mechanical strength in an industrial hydraulic press that squeezed the bricks until they began to fracture. The researchers found that the strongest bricks were able to hold up to pressures that are comparable to what concrete blocks can withstand. Those strongest bricks were made mostly from printed glass, with a separately manufactured interlocking feature that attached to the bottom of the brick. These results suggest that most of a masonry brick could be made from printed glass, with an interlocking feature that could be printed, cast, or separately manufactured from a different material.

“Glass is a complicated material to work with,” Becker says. “The interlocking elements, made from a different material, showed the most promise at this stage.”

The group is looking into whether more of a brick’s interlocking feature could be made from printed glass, but doesn’t see this as a dealbreaker in moving forward to scale up the design. To demonstrate glass masonry’s potential, they constructed a curved wall of interlocking glass bricks. Next, they aim to build progressively bigger, self-supporting glass structures.

“We have more understanding of what the material’s limits are, and how to scale,” Stern says. “We’re thinking of stepping stones to buildings, and want to start with something like a pavilion — a temporary structure that humans can interact with, and that you could then reconfigure into a second design. And you could imagine that these blocks could go through a lot of lives.”

This research was supported, in part, by the Bose Research Grant Program and MIT’s Research Support Committee.

[plethoraworldatlas]

More than 250 climate, environment, health, nutrition and food organizations and experts are urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to address greenhouse gas emissions from meat and dairy consumption. The move comes after USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack claimed, at December’s COP28 climate conference, that he doesn’t hear much about reducing meat consumption as a climate solution.

In a letter sent to the agriculture secretary today, signatories called on the USDA to immediately make meat and dairy reduction a key part of the agency’s climate strategy, align food and climate goals in all USDA programs, and integrate sustainability into the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

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Food and agriculture make up one-third of global greenhouse gases, mostly from meat and dairy, but these resource-intensive foods only provide 18% of calories. Reducing consumption of high-emissions foods in wealthy nations has been identified by the IPCC, FAO, and numerous climate studies as an important strategy to address greenhouse gas emissions.

These high-emissions foods are also the leading driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss and a key source of water pollution. Meat production accelerates the spread of disease, posing a severe risk to public health, particularly in marginalized communities, and making it even harder for farmers to adapt to climate change.

[head-post]

European Commission rejects car industry appeals to delay CO2 emissions targets

The European Commission on Monday opposed calls by carmakers to delay the introduction of 2025 CO2 emission reduction targets for cars, arguing that the sector has had plenty of time to prepare, Euractiv reports.

Under the EU’s CO2 emissions requirements for cars and vans, carmakers have until next year to reduce the average CO2 emissions of their vehicles by 15 per cent from 2021 levels.

However, with electric vehicle sales lagging behind expectations, in an informal document circulated over the weekend, some industry players called for a two-year delay to avoid the risk of billions of dollars in fines. Tim McPhie, Commission spokesperson for climate action, told Euractiv:

“The 2025 target requires – and enables – manufacturers to develop a comprehensive compliance strategy.” 

Emphasising that the 2025 target has not changed since the last review of CO2 standards in 2023, which introduced a de facto ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, McPhie added:

“The industry has had quite some time to prepare for this next phase in the transition. The targets that apply from 2025 were adopted by the co-legislators in 2019.”

An industry document seen by Euractiv warns that carmakers could face fines of up to €16bn for failing to meet the EU’s 2025 target.

The document claims that in order to meet the target of 95g CO2 per kilometre by 2025, the market share of electric cars must increase to 20-22%, while the current share of all-electric cars does not exceed 15%.

The document is authored by carmaker Renault, whose CEO Luca de Meo also heads the European carmakers’ association ACEA, French newspaper Le Monde reported.

Renault representatives had no comment.

ACEA declined to comment on the document, but referred to a statement issued last week that said “the EU is still missing crucial conditions for the mass market adoption of zero-emission cars and vans.”

Read more HERE

[artisticdivasworld]

Navigating the Financial Impact of EPA Emission Standards: Strategic Insights for Trucking Companies

Renee Williams, CEO & PresidentFreightRevCon, a Freight Revenue Consultants, LLC. company The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new emission standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks represent a landmark move toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving public health. With these standards set to roll out from 2027 through 2032, they are projected to cut greenhouse gas…

[elektroskopik]

Global sales of SUVs hit record high in 2023

Sales of SUVs hit a new record in 2023, making up half of all new cars sold globally, data has revealed. Experts warned that the rising sales of the large, heavy vehicles is pushing up the carbon emissions that drive global heating.

The analysis, by the International Energy Agency, found that the rising emissions from SUVs in 2023 made up 20% of the global increase in CO2, making the vehicles a major cause of the intensifying climate crisis. If SUVs were a country, the IEA said, they would be the world’s fifth-largest emitter of CO2, ahead of the national emissions of both Japan and Germany.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Figure 8.13 summarizes the CO2-equivalent contribution of GHGs associated with human activities.

"Environmental Chemistry: A Global Perspective", 4e - Gary W. VanLoon & Stephen J. Duffy