4 ms·

> And the trees absorb each year about 13% of the (gross) US emission. More than gas power plants emit Unfortunately, these future trees are double booked. Air

> And the trees absorb each year about 13% of the (gross) US emission. More than gas power plants emit Unfortunately, these future trees are double booked. Airlines, shipping, cement, steel - they are all hoping to use tree / bio-fuels instead of more expensive solutions. So yes. Lots of PV/wind. Keep gas for backup. But it is a temporary crutch!

credit_guy 4y ago
Airlines and shipping contribute about 2% and 3% of the total emissions. There is no easy way to convert them from liquid hydrocarbon fuels to something else. But it's only 5% of the emissions. I don't think there's a climate scientist out there who will tell you that if we cut net emissions by 100% by 2050 we are fine, but if only cut by 95% we are doomed. In any case, if we use natural gas power plants only for smoothing out the peak demand, then their emissions will be much less than the current 12%. Maybe 4 or 5%. Enough room for airlines and shipping. As for steel and cement, we need to switch them to new technologies that makes them not emit CO2, such as [1], or emit much less, such as [2]. The thing is, once electricity is cheap (because solar and wind are cheap), hydrogen will be cheap, and switching steel production from using coke to hydrogen will be not only environmentally responsible, but also economically optimal. The same for fertilizers and plastics. Cement will be a bit trickier to get to fully carbon neutral, but we'll be able to easily cut emissions in half. All in all, there are no real blockers to get to net zero. We only need to keep the pace with solar and wind, and there are no signs that we won't be able to. [1] https://www.ssab.com/en/fossil-free-steel https://www.ssab.com/en/fossil-free-steel [2] https://www.cemexusa.com/vertua https://www.cemexusa.com/vertua

4 ms·

> And the trees absorb each year about 13% of the (gross) US emission. More than gas power plants emit Unfortunately, these future trees are double booked. Air

by algo_trader 4y ago

credit_guy 4y ago
Airlines and shipping contribute about 2% and 3% of the total emissions. There is no easy way to convert them from liquid hydrocarbon fuels to something else. But it's only 5% of the emissions. I don't think there's a climate scientist out there who will tell you that if we cut net emissions by 100% by 2050 we are fine, but if only cut by 95% we are doomed. In any case, if we use natural gas power plants only for smoothing out the peak demand, then their emissions will be much less than the current 12%. Maybe 4 or 5%. Enough room for airlines and shipping. As for steel and cement, we need to switch them to new technologies that makes them not emit CO2, such as [1], or emit much less, such as [2]. The thing is, once electricity is cheap (because solar and wind are cheap), hydrogen will be cheap, and switching steel production from using coke to hydrogen will be not only environmentally responsible, but also economically optimal. The same for fertilizers and plastics. Cement will be a bit trickier to get to fully carbon neutral, but we'll be able to easily cut emissions in half. All in all, there are no real blockers to get to net zero. We only need to keep the pace with solar and wind, and there are no signs that we won't be able to. [1] https://www.ssab.com/en/fossil-free-steel https://www.ssab.com/en/fossil-free-steel [2] https://www.cemexusa.com/vertua https://www.cemexusa.com/vertua