Nanotechnology as a sustainable approach for combating the environmental effects of climate change

Abstract

Currently, there are a huge number of environmental issues that the world is facing from past few decades. However, the climate change is possibly the major environmental threat to deal with. The rise of 1.5–2 °C surface temperature has been recorded in last 40–50 years. In next 50–100 years the earth temperature will create harsh conditions for living and consequences would be catastrophic. Global warming is the major cause of climate change. The common reason of global warming is carbon-associated gas emission (greenhouse gases) from burning of fossil fuels in various industries, transportation, electricity production, agriculture and commercial sources. Though, pollution, urbanization, population etc. in similar way also contribute to climate change by disturbing the balance of the ecosystem. Nanotechnology, because of unique properties of nanomaterials, offers a wide range of applications in environment, agriculture, food and energy sectors. Not only the environmental nanotechnology can handle a range of environmental problems but also the nanotechnological products and processes are considered as the most effective and innovative tools/mode to accomplish sustainability goals. Nanostructured materials such as nanocomposites, functionalized nanomaterials, metal organic frameworks, nanocatalysts, carbonaceous materials, nano zeolites, nano silica, nano lubricants and nano coatings etc. have enormous possibilities in sequestration and reduction of greenhouse gases, biofuel production, wastewater treatment and environmental remediation using a sustainable approach. The present paper is an attempt to summarize the nanotechnology-based approaches to combat climate change. It aims to review the long-term effects of new nanocompounds to environment and promotion of sustainable methods to solve the climate change related problems.