Costs Of Carbon Sequestration Research Articles

Cultivation of aromatic plant for nature-based sustainable solutions for the management of degraded/marginal lands: techno-economics and carbon dynamic

The cultivation of aromatic grasses on marginal/degraded land attracts attention due to their remediation potential, low input cost, and economic gain. During the distillation of these aromatic grasses, a huge amount of solid and liquid waste (hydrosol) is generated, which is not only rich in carbon content but also has a good amount of nutrient. This review summarized the potential of aromatic plants for the restoration and vaporization of distilled waste into different value-added products. In this review, estimates of the economic cost and carbon dynamics for cultivation, distillation, and waste valorisation of aromatic grasses were made using available data. Based on the literature, the available degraded land reported for India (38,600 ha) was used for the calculation. The review discussed Scientometrics analysis, the remediation potential of aromatic plants, and various routes of valorization of distilled waste generated to achieve sustainable development goals. Scientometrics analysis demonstrated the studies that include the phytoremediation potential of aromatic grasses in recent years. Among the aromatic grasses, Chrysopogon zizaniodes (L.) Nash., Cymbopogon flexuosus and Cymbopogon martini were majorly used for reclamation purposes for dry land, mine-affected areas, and metal and pesticide-contaminated soils. The estimated profitability of the cultivation and carbon sequestration potential of these grasses in marginal/degraded land could be 22–629 million USD. Our estimations showed that the cost of carbon sequestration by the cultivation of the aromatic plant in degraded land could be 16–45 million USD. The conversion of distilled waste generated into compost, vermicompost, and biochar could sequester about 0.02 X105-335 X105 t of carbon (cost: 0.2–1913 million USD). The use of hydrosol and smoke water released during the process could sequester about 0.014 to 7403 t of carbon ( cost 0.001 to 0.42 million USD). Overall the review demonstrated the sustainability and carbon footprinting of the remediation process by aromatic grasses. The review allowed the exploration of knowledge-based strategies to unlock the potential of aromatic plants for restoration and carbon sequestration, along with the value addition of distilled waste in a sustainable manner. However, more databases are needed to support the information, which includes the productivity and selectivity of individual aromatic plant for different soil and agro-climatic regions.Graphical

Spatial Trade-Offs in National Land-Based Wind Power Production in Times of Biodiversity and Climate Crises

AbstractEnergy generated by land-based wind power is expected to play a crucial role in the decarbonisation of the economy. However, with the looming biodiversity and nature crises, spatial allocation of wind power can no longer be considered solely a trade-off against local disamenity costs. Emphasis should also be put on wider environmental impacts, especially if these challenge the sustainability of the renewable energy transition. We suggest a modelling system for selecting among a pool of potential wind power plants (WPPs) by combining an energy system model with a GIS analysis of WPP sites and surrounding viewscapes. The modelling approach integrates monetised local disamenity and carbon sequestration costs and places constraints on areas of importance for wilderness and biodiversity (W&B). Simulating scenarios for the Norwegian energy system towards 2050, we find that the southern part of Norway is the most favourable region for wind power siting when only the energy system surplus is considered. However, when local disamenity costs (and to a lesser extent carbon costs) and W&B constraints are added successively to the scenarios, it becomes increasingly beneficial to site WPPs in the northern part of Norway. We find that the W&B constraints have the largest impact on the spatial distribution of WPPs, while the monetised costs of satisfying these constraints are relatively small. Overall, our results show that there is a trade-off between local disamenities and loss of W&B. Siting wind power plants outside the visual proximity of households has a negative impact on W&B.

Integrated techno-economic and life cycle assessment of a novel algae-based coating for direct air carbon capture and sequestration

Direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) systems are expected to play an important role in fighting global warming. While existing DACCS technologies have demonstrated CO2 removal rates at or below the kiloton scale, high capital costs and significant energy demands represent hurdles in achieving large scale deployment. This study evaluates a novel biomimetic coating primarily consisting of a hydrogel seeded with microalgae biomass printed on a polyethylene substrate. The coating has been developed to exploit the high photosynthetic rates of microalgae to fix atmospheric CO2 into cellulose using incident solar energy. The carbon embodied in the cellulose material is converted to biochar through pyrolysis to ensure durable carbon sequestration without the need for underground storage. The proposed system offers many advantages including modularity and scalability, the potential for high water retention rates, and long periods of operation with minimal maintenance and management. Three scenarios were evaluated using conservative, baseline, and optimistic assumptions to capture the true range in performance of the system. Results from the modeling work show a carbon removal efficiency ranging from 51% to 73% and carbon capture and sequestration costs of $702–$1585 per tonne CO2 sequestered. Furthermore, the modular design of the coated substrate system and utilization of solar energy supports the rapid upscaling necessary to meet mid-century carbon removal goals. Discussion focuses on the key performance drivers of the system and the challenges and feasibility of meeting target metrics to support economic and environmental sustainability.

Research on carbon sequestration cost accounting and value evaluation method

The existing research results at home and abroad on the cost accounting methods and benefit evaluation of forest carbon sequestration were applied and analyzed. The cost of carbon sequestration is studied based on partial forestry data in Guangxi, China, using ecological economic methods, taking into account forest rotation period and discount rate. The benefit of carbon sequestration is studied in Fujian, China, with reference to domestic and foreign research results and the concept of "market approximation coefficient". The results show that it is very necessary to analyze the carbon sequestration cost net income in evaluating the feasibility of carbon sequestration afforestation project implementation.

Production of concrete pipes by carbonation curing in an inflatable enclosure

Production of concrete pipes using ambient pressure (AP) carbonation curing in an inflatable enclosure was studied. The process was developed to replace traditional steam curing in order to reduce energy consumption, improve concrete performance and sequester carbon dioxide in pipes. The ambient pressure carbonation was compared with high pressure (HP) carbonation at 5 bar and normal hydration references. A composite structure of calcium carbonate with CSH was found in concrete after AP carbonation. Multiple techniques including quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis (QXRD), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopic analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were applied to characterize the strength development and microstructural enhancement of such cementitious matrix. The results demonstrated that AP carbonated pipes had comparable CO2 uptake, three-edge-bearing test (TEBT) strength, absorption, and resistance to internal-hydraulic pressure with HP carbonated ones. In addition, AP carbonation provided nucleating sites for CSH gel growth, thus contributing to the improved performance of concrete pipes while sequestrating CO2 and reducing the overall carbon footprint. Lastly, the carbon sequestration cost is lower in AP than in HP carbonation, which confirms the economic benefits of using AP in early-age carbonation curing of cement-based products.

Towards carbon neutrality: How much do forest carbon sinks cost in China?

With the implementation of carbon neutrality strategies in China, both carbon emissions reduction and carbon sequestration should be considered. In order to exert the carbon neutrality potential of forest carbon sinks, it is necessary to calculate the cost of them in China. Based on the basic principles of land use opportunity cost and net present value from previous research, this paper constructs a forest carbon sink cost estimation model based on the afforestation cost method. Empirical analysis of the carbon sequestration cost is explored at the city level in China. According to the results, the regional distribution of carbon sink costs varies greatly. On the whole, Southwest China is suitable for afforestation to create carbon sinks since its cost is relatively low. It can obtain carbon benefits from forest carbon sinks projects, while there are higher carbon sink costs in the eastern coastal areas. Furthermore, it dynamically analyzes the impact of the rotation period, timber price, discount rate and afforestation cost on the cost of carbon sinks. The rotation period and afforestation cost have more sensitivity for the forest carbon sink cost. Therefore, it should implement different low-carbon policies in different regions, and encourage forest management to create carbon sinks in areas rich in forest resources. In addition, an inter-regional carbon sink trading mechanism can play the economic value of forest carbon sinks effectively and achieve win-win cooperation between regions.

Costs of forest carbon sequestration in the presence of climate change impacts

Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change, and, at the same time, are predicted to experience large-scale impacts of climate change that will affect the efficiency of forests in mitigation efforts. Projections of future carbon sequestration potential typically do not account for the changing economic costs of timber and agricultural production and land use change. We integrated a dynamic forward-looking economic optimization model of global land use with results from a dynamic global vegetation model and meta-analysis of climate impacts on crop yields to project future carbon sequestration in forests. We find that the direct impacts of climate change on forests, represented by changes in dieback and forest growth, and indirect effects due to lost crop productivity, together result in a net gain of 17 Gt C in aboveground forest carbon storage from 2000 to 2100. Increases in climate-driven forest growth rates will result in an 81%–99% reduction in costs of reaching a range of global forest carbon stock targets in 2100, while the increases in dieback rates are projected to raise the costs by 57%–132%. When combined, these two direct impacts are expected to reduce the global costs of climate change mitigation in forests by more than 70%. Inclusion of the third, indirect impact of climate change on forests through reduction in crop yields, and the resulting expansion of cropland, raises the costs by 11%–38% and widens the uncertainty range. While we cannot rule out the possibility of climate change increasing mitigation costs, the central outcomes of the simultaneous impacts of climate change on forests and agriculture are 64%–86% reductions in the mitigation costs. Overall, the results suggest that concerns about climate driven dieback in forests should not inhibit the ambitions of policy makers in expanding forest-based climate solutions.

Intertemporal allocation and cost of forest carbon sequestration in China under the carbon neutrality target

The situations are complex and variant in the three stages of "carbon emission peak", "rapid reduction of carbon emission" and "deep decarbonization for carbon neutrality" in China's carbon neutralization roadmap. Forest carbon sequestration is an important means to achieve the goal of carbon neutralization in China. Its intertemporal allocation is a vital way to balance industrial emission reduction and forest carbon sequestration, reduce the cost of carbon neutrality, and gradually achieve the goal of carbon neutrality based on optimal cost. Based on the cost optimization allocation theory, we simulated the cost change process of three stages of carbon neutralization in China by quoting the theory of marginal carbon sequestration cost and combining with the existing domestic marginal abatement cost theory. The results showed that annual forest carbon sequestrations with the optimal cost in China was 20 million t, 775 million t and 1.982 billion t respectively in the three stages of "carbon emission peak", "rapid reduction of carbon emission" and "deep decarbonization for carbon neutrality", accounting for 1.8%, 17.5%, and 37.6% of the total emission reduction in each period. Compared with the way relying only on industrial emission reduction, forest carbon sequestration under the optimal cost design reduced the total cost by 48, 79136, and 909253 million US$ in the three stages of carbon neutralization, respectively. Due to the limited cost advantage of forest carbon sequestration, industrial emission reduction should be emphasized in the "carbon emission peak" stage. In the "rapid reduction of carbon emissions" stage, the cost advantage of forest carbon sequestration will be increasingly prominent. In the stage of "deep decarbonization for carbon neutrality", it is necessary to fully exploit the cost advantage of forest carbon sequestration to achieve the goal of "zero carbon" to avoid the risk of high costs, especially for industries with high decarbonization cost or that will never be completely decarbonized. The optimal cost design for forest carbon sequestration can save 988.437 billion US $ in carbon-neutral costs.

Marginal cost of carbon sequestration through forest afforestation of agricultural land in the southeastern United States

AbstractOne tool to mitigate climate change is to sequester carbon through changes in land use. The purpose of this study is to analyze the cost‐effectiveness of carbon sequestration through afforestation of cropland via the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the United States. We use the correlated random effects (CRE) probit model to estimate the impact of an increase in the CRP rental payments on land use transitions between cropland and forest. Our estimates are used to simulate land use change and carbon sequestration supply curves over different time horizons. Increasing the CRP rent to reflect the social cost of carbon of $154/tonne of carbon increases annual carbon sequestered by 7.42 million tonnes, 23.58 million tonnes, and 34.96 million tonnes over 1, 5, and 10‐year horizons.

Opportunity Costs of Forest Conservation in Nepal

Forest biomass may vary by species composition, location, management regimes, and management interventions. To assess the variation in biomass production by management regimes, we conducted a study in three physiographic regions (mid-hills, Siwaliks and Terai) of Nepal with four different management regimes (community forest, collaborative forest, protected area, and protected forest). As community forest is the dominant forest management regime in Nepal, it was studied in all physiographic regions whereas the other two regimes were drawn only from the Terai. We interviewed a total of 1,115 forest user households, which was supplemented by high-resolution satellite image analysis and forest inventory to estimate the costs and benefits of forest management and calculate the opportunity cost of conserving forest. Our estimates suggest that the opportunity cost of conserving forest in Nepal ranged from USD 654/ha in collaborative forest to USD 3,663/ha in protected forest in 2015. The associated opportunity cost of carbon sequestration was between USD 1.11 and USD 3.56 per tCO2. Of the forest management practices adopted, the silviculture-based intensive forest management practice had a far lower cost of forest conservation compared to the other forest management regimes. We found that such a practice is more beneficial to the forest-dependent communities as it allows them to collect the non-timber forest products that are necessary for their daily needs.

A global analysis of the break-even prices to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide via forest plantation and avoided deforestation

A cross-country assessment of the cost of carbon sequestration in the forest sector is needed for planning and achieving climate commitments, such as the Paris Agreement, at global, regional, national, or sectoral scales. We provide a global and bottom-up assessment of the break-even carbon price to undertake forest plantation and forest conservation at a country level for 166 nations. We construct a global dataset of key cost factors, examine their global distributions, and undertake a cross-country assessment of cost differences with alternative forest programs (plantation and conservation). Our bottom-up approach is also calibrated to sub-national case studies to investigate the average cost of forest carbon in Australian states and Canadian provinces. We find that the break-even carbon price varies by countries, locations within a country, forest programs and co-benefits. Our estimates provide an approximation of the cost-effectiveness of forest carbon sequestration relative to non-forest climate mitigation approaches.

Afforestation for carbon sequestration in the Lower Mississippi River Basin of Arkansas, USA: Does modeling of land use at fine spatial resolution reveal lower carbon cost?

We use optimization of a structural dynamic model to evaluate the cost of carbon sequestration when afforestation subsidies are used to encourage private landowners to switch from cropland to forestry. Our model allows for the planting of either softwood or hardwood forest types with flexible rotation lengths, in addition to irrigated crops. We apply the model to a portion of the Lower Mississippi River Basin in Arkansas where groundwater overdraft lowers the profitability of irrigated crops. In our baseline model with a 5% discount rate, a subsidy for afforestation from $1000 to $4500 per acre increases pine plantings, aquifer volume, and carbon sequestration above the levels without a subsidy. The average cost to sequester a ton of carbon increases from $13 ($3.55 per ton CO2eq) at the lowest subsidy to $36 ($9.84 per ton CO2eq) at the highest. Lower costs are achievable when soybeans are prominent on the landscape and high costs result when rice and corn dominate. Reducing the discount rate from 5% to 2% changes the afforestation type from fast growing softwoods to slow growing hardwoods, and this substantially lowers the cost of carbon sequestration. Delaying the implementation of an afforestation subsidy until irrigation costs rise from groundwater scarcity will increase the costs of carbon sequestration because many landowners will choose forest types with longer rotations without a subsidy. A carbon credit scheme leads to only afforestation by no harvest hardwoods.

Market Costs and Financing Options for Grassland Carbon Sequestration: Empirical and Modelling Evidence From Qinghai, China

Asia’s grasslands provide livelihoods for some of the region’s poorest people. Widespread grassland degradation reduces the resilience and returns to herding livelihoods. Reversing degradation and conserving grasslands could not only improve herders’ situation, but also make a huge contribution to mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon in soils. However, the means for reaching each of these objectives are not necessarily the same. To realize this potentially huge dual livelihood/climate change mitigation outcome from improved grassland management, it is necessary to have detailed understanding of the processes involved in securing better livelihoods and sequestering carbon. Based on household surveys on the Tibetan Plateau and modeling results, this study estimates economic and market costs of grassland carbon sequestration, and analyzes the implications of household and carbon project cash flows for the design of financing options. Five scenarios are modeled involving cultivation of grass on severely degraded grassland (all scenarios) and reduced grazing intensity on less degraded land, which requires destocking by 29, 38, 47, 56, and 65% in each scenario). Modeling results suggest that economic benefits for herders are positive at low levels of destocking, and negative at high levels of destocking, but initial investments and opportunity costs are significant barriers to adoption for households in all destocking scenarios. Existing rural finance products are not suitable for herders to finance the necessary investments. Market costs–the cost at which transactions between herders and carbon project developers are feasible–depend on the scale of project implementation but are high compared to recent carbon market prices. Large initial investments increase project developers’ financing costs and risk, so co-financing of initial investments by government would be necessary. Therefore, public policies to support grassland carbon sequestration should consider the potential roles of a range of financial instruments.

Impacts of Low-Carbon Targets and Hydrogen Production Alternatives on Energy Supply System Transition: An Infrastructure-Based Optimization Approach and a Case Study of China

Low-carbon transition pathways oriented from different transition targets would result in a huge variation of energy system deployment and transition costs. Hydrogen is widely considered as an imperative energy carrier to reach carbon neutral targets. However, hydrogen production, either from non-fossil power or fossil fuels with carbon capture, is closely linked with an energy supply system and has great impacts on its structure. Identifying an economically affordable transition pathway is attractive, and energy infrastructure is critical due to massive investment and long life-span. In this paper, a multi-regional, multi-period, and infrastructure-based model is proposed to quantify energy supply system transition costs with different low-carbon targets and hydrogen production alternatives, and China is taken as a case study. Results show that, fulfilling 2-degree and 1.5-degree temperature increase targets would result in 84% and 151% increases in system transition costs, 114% and 246% increases in infrastructure investment, and 211% and 339% increases in stranded investment, compared to fulfilling stated policy targets. Producing hydrogen from coal would be economical when carbon capture and sequestration cost is lower than 437 yuan per tonne, and reduce infrastructure investment and stranded coal investment by 16% and 35% respectively, than producing hydrogen from renewable power.

Carbon emission, sequestration, credit and economics of wheat under poplar based agroforestry system

The present study was conducted to compare the carbon sequestration potential, carbon emission, and cost benefit ratio of wheat varieties under open farming and poplar based agroforestry system. Field experiment was carried out at Agroforestry Research Center, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India. The experimental plots were laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with two associate farming systems, open farming and poplar based agroforestry system, and four varieties of wheat, PBW-373, PBW-343, UP-262 and VL-907, with three replications. Above ground, below ground and total biomass, carbon stock, carbon sequestration, carbon credit, and carbon price all were significantly higher in wheat under poplar based agroforestry system (22.949, 2.753, 25.702, 11.460, 42.049 tonnes/ha, 40.049 and $744.270/ha) while net emission was significantly lower (−40.998 tonnes/ha) in two years, as compared to open farming (−37.263 tonnes/ha). Net return and Benefit Cost (B:C) ratio ($876.29/ha and 1.83) was also higher in agroforestry system than open farming system ($700.91/ha and 1.82). Among wheat varieties VL-907 recorded maximum net return and B:C ratio ($914.52/ha and 2.12) followed by PBW-343.

Quantifying the Carbon Sequestration Costs for Pinus elliottii Afforestation Project of China Greenhouse Gases Voluntary Emission Reduction Program: A Case Study in Jiangxi Province

Afforestation and reforestation (AR) is an important component of China’s Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Voluntary Emission Reduction Program, acting as a valuable nationwide carbon sink. Although a number of studies have explored the costs of creating a carbon sink, such an assessment is lacking for China’s GHG Voluntary Emissions Reduction Program. This study develops an economic carbon sink costs measurement model for the Pinus elliottii afforestation project, based on the land opportunity cost method, which incorporates carbon sink transaction costs and leakage costs. From this, an empirical analysis on the carbon sink costs and its sensitivity factors was conducted. The results show that, firstly, the carbon sequestration costs of afforestation projects are generally high, ranging from 44.2 Yuan/tCO2e to 425.4 Yuan/tCO2e with and without considering the benefits of wood, respectively. This is higher than the current average carbon sink price of 20 Yuan/tCO2e. Secondly, forestry carbon sink transaction costs have a positive impact on carbon sequestration costs, but the impact is weak. Thirdly, carbon sequestration costs are negatively affected by timber prices but positively influenced by increasing labor prices and discount rate, which is not conductive to the development of carbon sink afforestation projects. In order to strengthen role of forestry in combating climate change, the study holds that the government departments should take measures to reduce carbon sink transaction costs, establish and improve the forestry carbon sink compensation mechanism in the future, and encourage wood-processing companies to make technological innovations to produce and sell durable wood products. The project owners can explore multiple operating models to increase their revenue, including market and non-market benefits, when the carbon sink afforestation project has been launched according to relevant methodologies.

The coming challenge of green hydrogen

By 2030, hydrogen could be on its way to being a clean, affordable, carbon-free gas that serves traditional chemical and refining customers as well as new customers that use it to generate electricity, heat homes, and fuel cars, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). But that’s only if industry can eliminate the 830 million metric tons of carbon dioxide generated every year to make hydrogen, mostly from the steam reformation of methane. Carbon sequestration costs could decline enough to make “blue” hydrogen—hydrogen for which all carbon emissions from production are captured and stored or reused—affordable by 2030, the IEA says. And only after 2030 could the cost of renewable energy–powered water electrolysis allow “green” hydrogen—hydrogen produced without carbon emissions—to reach affordable prices.

Economic Analysis of Carbon Removal Strategy by Fusion–Biomass Hybrid System in the Future Market Mechanism

Since the low-carbon technology fusion energy is scheduled to be commercialized beyond 2050, the late-mover needs to flexibly and strategically operate for sustainable cash flow responding to the future market mechanism. Carbon sequestration of the fusion–biomass hybrid system by using low-temperature heat is proposed under the two preconditions: the establishment of the deregulated electricity market, and the emission trading market. When the price is above the breakeven price, the hybrid system generates electricity; otherwise, charcoal production is performed. Charcoal production is a stable solid form of carbon capture, and can possibly be traded on the emission credit market to secure profit. The experimental result shows that it is possible to produce charcoal at low temperature of 280 °C, indicating that any type of blanket design is applicable in the hybrid system concept. The carbon sequestration cost is 39 $/tCO2 at the default parameter of net electric output of 4000 $/kWe for the fusion power plant, and 60% of charcoal yield from experimental result. Comparison between the hybrid system and the fusion power plant proves that the fusion–biomass hybrid system prevents further loss, by setting two-track income structures in the various market mechanisms.

Potential complementarity between forest carbon sequestration incentives and biomass energy expansion

There is a growing literature on the potential contributions the global forest sector could make toward long-term climate action goals through increased carbon sequestration and the provision of biomass for energy generation. However, little work to date has explored possible interactions between carbon sequestration incentives and bioenergy expansion policies in forestry. This study develops a simple conceptual model for evaluating whether carbon sequestration and biomass energy policies are carbon complements or substitutes. Then, we apply a dynamic structural model of the global forest sector to assess terrestrial carbon changes under different combinations of carbon sequestration price incentives and forest bioenergy expansion. Our results show that forest bioenergy expansion can complement carbon sequestration policies in the near- and medium-term, reducing marginal abatement costs and increasing mitigation potential. By the end of the century these policies become substitutes, with forest bioenergy expansion increasing the costs of carbon sequestration. This switch is driven by relatively high demand and price growth for pulpwood under scenarios with forest bioenergy expansion, which incentivizes management changes in the near- and medium-term that are carbon beneficial (e.g., afforestation and intensive margin shifts), but requires sustained increases in pulpwood harvest levels over the long-term.

Use of revealed preference data to estimate the costs of forest carbon sequestration in Canada

Estimates of the costs of forest carbon sequestration can guide policy makers in determining the level of effort to place on achieving this form of greenhouse gas emissions mitigation. The Canadian literature on the costs of forest carbon sequestration is dominated by what is known as the bottom-up engineering method. Generally speaking, this approach relies on values observed in markets to estimate land opportunity costs. An alternative is the econometric method, which can capture other potential influences on the behavior of landowners, as revealed by historical data. To our knowledge, there are currently no studies that apply the econometric method to Canada; this may be because detailed land-use data over time is not available. We identified a database compiled by the Canadian Forest Service and used it to estimate an econometric model of afforestation in Ontario. Simulations were conducted from the estimated equation under a range of conditions. The results suggest that carbon sequestration at a given cost could be much lower than indicated by Canadian bottom-up studies. The simulations also demonstrate that, if afforestation is encouraged by awarding offset credits, low carbon prices could result in an unacceptably high share of those credits going to non-additional projects – ones that would have been carried out anyway.