Stabilization Wedges Research Articles

Nutrient-doped synthetic silicates for enhanced weathering, remineralization and fertilization on agricultural lands of global cold regions- A perspective on the research ahead.

There is now a dire demand for negative emissions technologies (which sequester CO2 from the atmosphere) that can be rapidly deployed, are scalable, and are demonstrably safe and effective. Enhanced weathering of silicate minerals has demonstrated a significant potential for CO2 capture and sequestration by the formation of pedogenic carbonates in soils, subsoils, and sediments. This technique has also been shown to deliver fruitful results in terms of improving soil health, and in turn plant health, through remineralization. The silicate minerals that possess the highest weathering rates (e.g., wollastonite), are relatively rare in nature, whereas the abundant ones (e.g., anorthite and forsterite) have a slower pace of weathering, especially in colder and drier climates such as found in the extensive agricultural lands of Western Canada and the Western United States. Herein, we offer a perspective on the opportunities for computational studies targeting atomic-scale interaction of CO2 with silicates and synthesis of fast-weathering silicates (such as larnite and bredigite), whose composition can be tuned to also support soil fertilization and remineralization, and whose production must be integrated with green and carbon-neutral technologies to ensure net-negative life cycle emissions.

The Triple Bottom Line and Stabilization Wedges: A Framework for Perioperative Sustainability.

We present a narrative review of environmental sustainability aimed at perioperative clinicians. The review will familiarize readers with the triple bottom line framework, which aims to align the goals of delivering high-quality patient care, promoting environmental sustainability, and improving the financial position of health care organizations. We introduce the stabilization wedges model for climate change action adopted for the perioperative setting and discuss areas in which perioperative leaders can make sustainable choices. The goal of this review is to increase awareness among perioperative physicians of the environmental impacts of surgical and anesthetic care, promote engagement with sustainability efforts as a topic of professional concern for our specialty, and inspire new research in perioperative environmental sustainability.

Urban Farming with Enhanced Rock Weathering As a Prospective Climate Stabilization Wedge.

With no single carbon capture and sequestration solution able to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5-2.0 °C by 2100, additional climate stabilization measures are needed to complement current mitigation approaches. Urban farming presents an easy-to-adopt pathway toward carbon neutrality, unlocking extensive urban surface areas that can be leveraged to grow food while sequestering CO2. Urban farming involves extensive surface areas, such as roofs, balconies, and vertical spaces, allowing for soil presence and atmospheric carbon sequestration through air-to-soil contact. In this viewpoint we also advocate the incorporation of enhanced rock weathering (ERW) into urban farming, providing a further opportunity for this recognized negative emissions technology that is gaining momentum worldwide to gain greater utilization.

Alkaline Mineral Soil Amendment: A Climate Change ‘Stabilization Wedge’?

Extreme climate change due to heat-trapping gases, especially carbon dioxide, necessitates its mitigation. In this context, the carbon dioxide sequestration technology of enhanced weathering has for years been investigated, with a possible implementation strategy via alkaline mineral soil amendment being more recently proposed. Candidate materials for enhanced weathering include calcium and magnesium silicates, most notably those belonging to the olivine, pyroxene and serpentine groups of minerals, given their reactivity with CO2 and global availability. When these finely crushed silicate rocks are applied to the soil, the alkaline earth metal cations released during mineral weathering gradually react with carbonate anions and results in the formation of pedogenic carbonates, which, over time, and under the right conditions, can accumulate in the soil. This review paper critically reviews the available literature on alkaline mineral soil amendments and its potential to sequester enough CO2 to be considered a climate change ‘stabilization wedge’. Firstly, evidence of how agricultural soil can serve as a carbon sink in discussed, based on the observed accumulation of inorganic carbon in alkaline mineral-amended soils. Secondly, the impact of alkaline minerals on agricultural soil and crops, and the factors determining the rate of the weathering process are assessed. Lastly, the CO2 sequestration potential via alkaline mineral soil amendment is quantified according to an idealized shrinking core model, which shows that it has the potential to serve as a climate change stabilization wedge.

The impact pulse and restoration curves: Going beyond mitigation and stabilization

Abstract Mitigation measures proposed as a response to the carbon and climate problem represent only the first half of a complete solution. Proactively repairing the damage through restoration represents the remaining half, which must entail the capture and storage of trillions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Given that the time required for natural processes to restore the concentration of atmospheric CO2 to its baseline level is on the order of centuries, timely removal must involve carbon dioxide removal (CDR) geoengineering. Idealized impact and restoration scenarios, which build upon earlier conceptions of stabilization wedges, are proposed as conceptual tools with which to frame policy responses. These scenarios suggest that climate policy must weigh tradeoffs between nearer-term mitigation measures and longer-term CDR interventions. The tradeoffs depend on whether we wish to minimize the magnitude (peak CO2 concentration) or duration (time to reach pre-industrial CO2 levels) of the impact. Generalizing beyond the specific example of climate change, more rigorous consideration of technology-dependent impact and restoration scenarios can help provide a much-needed reality check for both environmental alarmism and technological optimism. This check is important as humanity transitions from the unintentional Anthropocene to the intentional Anthropocene over the course of this century. The prospect of the intentional Anthropocene also raises important ethical questions about the human-nature relationship.

Response to the discussion letter of Lassaletta and Aguilera “soil carbon sequestration is a climate stabilization wedge: Comments on Sommer and Bossio (2014)”

Response to the discussion letter of Lassaletta and Aguilera “soil carbon sequestration is a climate stabilization wedge: Comments on Sommer and Bossio (2014)”

Soil carbon sequestration is a climate stabilization wedge: Comments on Sommer and Bossio (2014)

Sommer and Bossio (2014) model the potential soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in agricultural soils (croplands and grasslands) during the next 87 years, concluding that this process cannot be considered as a climate stabilization wedge. We argue, however, that the amounts of SOC potentially sequestered in both scenarios (pessimistic and optimistic) fulfil the requirements for being considered as wedge because in both cases at least 25 GtC would be sequestered during the next 50 years. We consider that it is precisely in the near future, and meanwhile other solutions are developed, when this stabilization effort is most urgent even if after some decades the sequestration rate is significantly reduced. Indirect effects of SOC sequestration on mitigation could reinforce the potential of this solution. We conclude that the sequestration of organic carbon in agricultural soils as a climate change mitigation tool still deserves important attention for scientists, managers and policy makers.

Energy Transition in Austria: Designing Mitigation Wedges

EU climate and energy policy defines ambitious objectives for the Member States, requiring a fundamental change in energy systems. In an interdisciplinary approach, starting with welfare-generating energy services instead of energy flows, we analyse restructuring options for the Austrian energy system. We extend the concept of stabilization wedges by Pacala and Socolow and integrate technological and behavioural options into a structural energy model, complemented by an economic evaluation in an input-output analysis. We apply the energy service based approach to a transformation of the Austrian energy system that meets the EU 2020 emission targets. We estimate that this would require on average additional investment of about 6 billion € p.a. over a twelve year period. This investment allows to tap savings in operating costs (predominantly energy costs) of up to 4.3 billion € at the end of the period, when using a conservative assumption of non-rising energy prices.

Drawbacks to Natural Gas

E. Kintisch recently reported on the evolution of the climate stabilization wedge concept (“Climate study highlights wedge issue,” News & Analysis, 11 January, p. [128][1]), first conceptualized by Pacala and Socolow in 2004 ([ 1 ][2]). At the close of the News story, Socolow acknowledges the need for thoughtful assessment of the technological paths toward carbon neutrality, but not before he touts the recent expansion of natural gas as “a rare sign of progress.” Natural gas is increasingly held up as a clean-burning, domestic “bridge fuel” paving the way toward energy independence. The problem with this assertion is that the recent proliferation of U.S. natural gas production is largely due to the expansion of hydraulic fracturing methodology to access shale gas ([ 2 ][3]). Once extracted, natural gas burns cleaner than coal or oil; however, the extraction-to-consumer carbon footprint of hydraulically fractured natural gas is greater than that of traditional energy sources ([ 3 ][4]). Moreover, hydraulic fracturing is increasingly linked with potentially irremediable freshwater contamination. In Pavillion, Wyoming, for instance, toxic or carcinogenic compounds added to fracking fluid have been found in drinking wells adjacent to drill pads ([ 4 ][5]). As we grapple with how to meet society's energy demands while obtaining carbon neutrality, we cannot pay for carbon offsets at the expense of other valuable natural resources, such as fresh water. ![Figure][1] Shale gas well site. CREDIT: DWIGHT NADIG/ISTOCKPHOTO 1. [↵][6]1. S. Pacala, 2. R. Socolow , Science 305, 968 (2004). [OpenUrl][7][Abstract/FREE Full Text][8] 2. [↵][9]Energy Information Administration, “Annual energy outlook” (U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, 2011). 3. [↵][10]1. R. W. Howarth, 2. R. Santoro, 3. A. Ingraffea , Clim. Change 106, 679 (2011). [OpenUrl][11][CrossRef][12][Web of Science][13] 4. [↵][14]1. D. C. DiGiulio, 2. R. T. Wilkin, 3. C. Miller, 4. G. Oberly , “Draft: Investigation of ground water contamination near Pavillion, Wyoming” (EPA, Office of Research and Development, Ada, OK, 2011); [www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/wy/pavillion/EPA\_ReportOnPavillion\_Dec-8-2011.pdf][15]. [1]: pending:yes [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #ref-3 [5]: #ref-4 [6]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [7]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DScience%26rft.stitle%253DScience%26rft.aulast%253DPacala%26rft.auinit1%253DS.%26rft.volume%253D305%26rft.issue%253D5686%26rft.spage%253D968%26rft.epage%253D972%26rft.atitle%253DStabilization%2BWedges%253A%2BSolving%2Bthe%2BClimate%2BProblem%2Bfor%2Bthe%2BNext%2B50%2BYears%2Bwith%2BCurrent%2BTechnologies%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1126%252Fscience.1100103%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F15310891%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [8]: /lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiQUJTVCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6Mzoic2NpIjtzOjU6InJlc2lkIjtzOjEyOiIzMDUvNTY4Ni85NjgiO3M6NDoiYXRvbSI7czoyNDoiL3NjaS8zNDAvNjEyOS8xNDEuMS5hdG9tIjt9czo4OiJmcmFnbWVudCI7czowOiIiO30= [9]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [10]: #xref-ref-3-1 View reference 3 in text [11]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DClim.%2BChange%26rft.volume%253D106%26rft.spage%253D679%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1007%252Fs10584-011-0061-5%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [12]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1007/s10584-011-0061-5&link_type=DOI [13]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=000290449200010&link_type=ISI [14]: #xref-ref-4-1 View reference 4 in text [15]: http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/wy/pavillion/EPA_ReportOnPavillion_Dec-8-2011.pdf

Climate stabilization wedges revisited: can agricultural production and greenhouse‐gas reduction goals be accomplished?

Climate stabilization wedges are defined as strategies that contribute to greenhouse‐gas (GHG) mitigation that – in aggregate – achieve a particular goal. Wedges have been proposed as a GHG mitigation framework because no single technology or economic sector can sufficiently reduce emissions to acceptable levels. To avoid the most dangerous risks of climate change, we argue that mitigation of ~9000 teragrams of carbon equivalents (Tg Ceq) will be required by the year 2030. We estimate that agriculture could provide wedges of 1350 to 3900 Tg Ceq under attainment of technological and human behavior mitigation potentials. Improved agricultural management can decrease nitrous oxide and methane emissions and increase carbon sequestration. Consumption of fewer livestock products along with agricultural intensification through available technologies can result in reduced emissions in both developed and developing countries. Decreasing excess protein and calorie consumption in developed countries improves personal health, while reforestation and avoided deforestation in developing countries help to maintain biodiversity. The mitigation wedges have varying economic costs but also have multiple benefits.

Sustainable energy for the marine sector

Most scientists agree that climate change is affected by anthropogenic factors, and measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions are being considered among countries. The maritime transportation sector must bear its share of responsibility for adopting corrective innovative measures on a global scale. The authors projected the energy consumption and emissions of different marine transportation types in 2050 and applied the model of stabilization wedges to explore activities and technologies to deduce policies that would lead to sustainable marine propulsion. Three percent of the global emissions reductions -about 44GtCO2/y- required to stabilize the temperature under 2°C above current levels must come from the maritime sector. To meet a reduction target of this segment, about 1.67GtCO2/y in 2050, we propose a range of technologies that include mission refinement, resistance reduction, prime mover and propulsion innovation, and new fuels. The authors find that the goal is partially attainable and proposes the balance to be delivered by dedicated land-based synfuel refineries that use carbon dioxide from coal power plants and hydrogen produced from sustainable sources, an approach that would extend the lifecycle of conventional prime movers. We await the adoption of suitable technologies to reduce the emissions in the maritime sector.

Cutting CO2 emissions from the US energy sector: meeting a 50% target by 2030

US energy-related CO2 emissions are of a globally significant scale and therefore the mitigation of these emissions may play an extremely important role in addressing anthropogenic climate change in the 21st century. In order to address this internationally relevant topic, this study set out to apply the concept of stabilization wedges to the US energy sector. The goal was to assess the cumulative emission abatement potential of a range of currently available strategies. We find that population, surface temperature, the type of industry present and the carbon intensity of the fuel mix are dominant drivers of energy-related emissions in the USA. In addition, we find that, if the right legislative and market mechanisms were in place, a cumulative CO2 reduction of 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 would be possible in the US energy sector. We demonstrate that this very large reduction in emissions can be achieved using 12 technologically deployable, economically feasible and politically acceptable mitigation strategies

Do governments have the right mix in their energy R&D portfolios?

Climate change is a major externality justifying government-sponsored R&D efforts into climate-friendly technologies. Current and near-term R&D is needed to develop new and improve existing technological options that will be needed in the long-term future to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The paper contrasts historical and current government R&D spending of the member countries of the International Energy Agency with a ‘need’-based analysis of technologies required to achieve long-term climate stabilization. The assessment of technology needs draws on the popular ‘stabilization wedge’ concept and is based on an analysis of a wide range of (22) scenarios of future technology deployment rates under a range of climate constraints that reflect important long-term uncertainties. We identify a significant mismatch to current energy technology R&D portfolios. The largest gap is between energy efficiency that is under-represented in current R&D portfolios and nuclear, which is over-represented, when compared with their respective importance for future climate mitigation efforts. Our discussion, therefore, focuses largely on these two contrasting mitigation options: energy efficiency versus nuclear.

Nuclear Power – A Panacea for Future Energy Needs?

Each week seems to bring further evidence that the Earth is warming at a faster rate than previously estimated. Pressure is building to replace power sources that emit carbon dioxide with those tha...

Integrated waste management as a climate change stabilization wedge

Anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gas emissions are known to contribute to global increases in greenhouse gas concentrations and are widely believed to contribute to climate change. A reference carbon dioxide concentration of 383 ppm for 2007 is projected to increase to a nominal 500 ppm in less than 50 years according to business as usual models. This concentration change is equivalent to an increase of 7 billion tonnes of carbon per year (7 Gt C year(-1)). The concept of a stabilization wedge was introduced by Pacala and Socolow (Science, 305, 968-972, 2004) to break the 7 Gt C year(- 1) into more manageable 1 Gt C year(- 1) reductions that would be achievable with current technology. A total of fifteen possible 'wedges' were identified; however, an integrated municipal solid waste (MSW) management system based on the European Union's waste management hierarchy was not evaluated as a wedge. This analysis demonstrates that if the tonnage of MSW is allocated to recycling, waste to energy and landfilling in descending order in lieu of existing 'business-as-usual' practices with each option using modern technology and best practices, the system would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1 Gt C year( -1). This integrated waste management system reduces CO(2) by displacing fossil electrical generation and avoiding manufacturing energy consumption and methane emissions from landfills.

Climate Stabilization Wedges in Action: A Systems Approach to Energy Sustainability for Hawaii Island

Pacala and Socolow developed a framework to stabilize global greenhouse gas levels for the next fifty years using wedges of constant size representing an increasing use of existing technologies and approaches for energy efficiency, carbon free generation, renewables, and carbon storage. The research presented here applies their approach to Hawaii Island, with modifications to support local scale analysis and employing a "bottom-up" methodology that allows for wedges of various sizes. A discretely bounded spatial unit offers a testing ground for a holistic approach to improving the energy sector with the identification of local options and limitations to the implementation of a comprehensive energy strategy. Nearly 80% of total primary energy demand across all sectors for Hawaii Island is currently met using petroleum-based fuels.The Sustainable Energy Plan scenario included here presents an internally consistent set of recommendations bounded by local constraints in areas such as transportation efficiency, centralized renewable generation (e.g., geothermal, wind), reduction in transmission losses, and improved building efficiency. This scenario shows thatthe demand for primary energy in 2030 could be reduced by 23% through efficiency measures while 46% could be met by renewable generation, resulting in only 31% of the projected demand being met by fossil fuels. In 2030, the annual releases of greenhouse gases would be 3.2 Mt CO2-eq/year under the Baseline scenario, while the Sustainable Energy Plan would reduce this to 1.2 Mt CO2-eq/year--an annual emissions rate 40% below 2006 levels and 10% below 1990 levels. The total for greenhouse gas emissions during the 24-year study period (2007 to 2030) is 59.9 Mt CO2-eq under the Baseline scenario and 32.5 Mt CO2-eq under the Sustainable Energy Plan scenario. Numerous combinations of efficiency and renewable energy options can be employed in a manner that stabilizes the greenhouse gas emissions of Hawaii Island.

Where does biodiversity go from here? A grim business-as-usual forecast and a hopeful portfolio of partial solutions

The threats to the future of biodiversity are many and well known. They include habitat conversion, environmental toxification, climate change, and direct exploitation of wildlife, among others. Moreover, the projected addition of 2.6 billion people by mid-century will almost certainly have a greater environmental impact than that of the last 2.6 billion. Collectively, these trends portend a grim future for biodiversity under a business-as-usual scenario. These threats and their interactions are formidable, but we review seven strategies that, if implemented soundly and scaled up dramatically, would preserve a substantial portion of global biodiversity. These are actions to stabilize the human population and reduce its material consumption, the deployment of endowment funds and other strategies to ensure the efficacy and permanence of conservation areas, steps to make human-dominated landscapes hospitable to biodiversity, measures to account for the economic costs of habitat degradation, the ecological reclamation of degraded lands and repatriation of extirpated species, the education and empowerment of people in the rural tropics, and the fundamental transformation of human attitudes about nature. Like the carbon "stabilization wedges" outlined by Pacala and Socolow [Pacala S, Socolow R (2004) Stabilization wedges: Solving the climate problem for the next 50 years with current technologies. Science 305:968-972] (1), the science and technologies needed to effect this vision already exist. The remaining challenges are largely social, political, and economic. Although academic conservation biology still has an important role to play in developing technical tools and knowledge, success at this juncture hinges more on a massive mobilization of effort to do things that have traditionally been outside the scope of the discipline.

Stabilization wedges: solving the climate problem for the next 50 years with current technologies.

Humanity already possesses the fundamental scientific, technical, and industrial know-how to solve the carbon and climate problem for the next half-century. A portfolio of technologies now exists to meet the world's energy needs over the next 50 years and limit atmospheric CO2 to a trajectory that avoids a doubling of the preindustrial concentration. Every element in this portfolio has passed beyond the laboratory bench and demonstration project; many are already implemented somewhere at full industrial scale. Although no element is a credible candidate for doing the entire job (or even half the job) by itself, the portfolio as a whole is large enough that not every element has to be used.