Zero Carbon Charge’s Post

In an innovative twist on combatting climate change, companies are now turning to the deep blue for solutions, sinking plant waste into the sea to lock away carbon for centuries. Dror Angel, marine ecologist at the University of Haifa and a partner of the Iliad project, leads the charge, utilizing the low-oxygen environment of the sea floor to preserve carbon-rich plant waste. This method, inspired by the preservation of ancient shipwrecks in the Black Sea, aims to address the ever-growing carbon footprint by burying wood waste from agriculture and forestry in ocean depths. https://lnkd.in/depBfAxZ #climatechange #waste #ocean #seafloor #carbon #capture #footprint #deepblue #technology

#ICYMI: The Coalition for Rainforest Nations released a new primer report on the UNFCCC REDD+ framework that will help educate anyone on evironmental policy and forest conservation - providing a better understanding on effective forest conservation and climate finance strategies. Check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eBAnJ6sv #forrestconservation #climatechangemitigation #renewables #cleanenergy #climatefinance

Congratulations to my student Nicholas R. on completing his Master of Science in Environmental Management! His Master's Project "An inventory of tidal marsh restoration opportunities in Humboldt Bay and their impact on greenhouse gas emissions" is a detailed look at Blue Carbon potential. His analysis shows a spatially explicit quantification of both tidal marsh restoration potential in Humboldt Bay, as well as the greenhouse gas emissions that could be mitigated through restoration efforts. His evaluation not only guides managers regionally, but also provides a thorough methodology that others could look to for doing this analysis elsewhere as well. Master's: https://lnkd.in/gme26AS3 Abstract: Blue carbon ecosystems like tidal marshes, mangroves, and seagrass are efficient carbon sinks that release minimal methane under saline conditions. However, coastal wetlands globally are under threat, and on the U.S. West Coast some 85% of historic tidal wetlands have been lost. As such, there is increasing interest in their restoration as a necessary climate mitigation strategy. This GIS analysis identifies potential tidal marsh restoration sites in Humboldt Bay, California, and estimates the post-restoration greenhouse gas benefits. An elevation-based model of Humboldt Bay’s full estuary extent developed by West Coast researchers was combined with data from the California Aquatic Resources Inventory and a digital elevation model. These datasets were used to identify land around Humboldt Bay that could potentially restore to tidal marsh if reconnected to the tides. This area was refined using land use and planning datasets to derive a pool of permissible and ecologically feasible potential restoration sites. Pre- and post-restoration emission factors derived from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defaults and California datasets were applied to each potential site to estimate the impact restoration would have on greenhouse gas emissions. There are 3,933 acres (15.9 km2) of land around Humboldt Bay that could restore to brackish or saline tidal marsh if reconnected to the tides. This land consists mostly of former tidelands that were diked and drained for agriculture in the 19th Century and are now used as pasture. Most restoration opportunities are around Humboldt Bay’s north embayment. Total current greenhouse gas emissions from the 3,933 acres (15.9 km2) of potential restoration sites are 20,427 t CO2e/year (20,427 Mg CO2e/year). Total emissions would be -5,438 t CO2e/year (-5,438 Mg CO2e/year) if all sites were restored. This represents a change of -25,865 t CO2e/year (-25,865 Mg CO2e/year), or the equivalent of removing more than 6,000 cars from the road. Restoring pasture generates the biggest per-acre emissions change: -7.74 t CO2e/acre/year (-1,913 g CO2e/m2/year) if post-restoration salinity is brackish, -7.27 t CO2e/acre/year (-1,796 g CO2e/m2/year) if saline. [Character limit exceeded - see doc for remainder].

We know that natural forests are crucial in tackling the climate crisis but it turns out forests don’t just absorb climate-killing CO2, scientists have learned that forests also absorb methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. But they can’t do it on their own! They need people like you to ensure politicians regulate against the LNG industry, which which produces methane, and to tell governments that business-as-usual forestry has degraded forests across Canada. https://lnkd.in/gKyV4g-k

Worth reading and reanalyse climate mitigation plan.

Sharing my latest thought piece on Rappler, analyzing the current landscape to see if the Philippines is ready for a net-zero policy or target. I make the case that the country is capable of at the minimum a conditional net-zero target by 2050, considering its current NDC is almost entirely based on a conditional mitigation target. To achieve this, the country needs to commit to both protecting and expanding its forests and other natural carbon sinks and truly moving away from coal. The questions must be asked: Is DOE serious about transitioning away from coal? Is DENR capable of protecting forests, considering the numerous cases of natural lands being destroyed in favor of extractive industries and the criticisms with its reforestation programs? These are fair questions to ask, and we should keep asking because we are all stakeholders in addressing the climate crisis. The work continues. #ClimateActionPH "Aside from the importance of evidence-based approach, another point that the government frequently emphasizes is that adaptation is the Philippines’s anchor strategy against the climate crisis and mitigation solutions would be operationalized with their benefits for adaptation in mind. There is arguably no sector that embodies the links between adaptation and mitigation than forestry. Using this argument, the fact that actions addressing the forestry sector are emphasized in the National Adaptation Plan but not in the mitigation-centric NDC does not seemingly add up. Nonetheless, the NDC Implementation Plan states that FOLU will be considered as an addition for the next NDC." https://lnkd.in/gZq7i9ri

A day to go ... and all political parties have a unique opportunity to protect peatlands in this #GeneralElection. Given the significance of peatlands for biodiversity and carbon sequestration, we call on all parties to be bolder and introduce a national natural carbon designation to protect them from damage caused by large-scale industrial development #WildPlaces @PEATlandAction @ScotLINK Read our policy position 👇 https://lnkd.in/eKp9Mktf

I'm thrilled to share our new paper, "Cost-effectiveness of natural forest regeneration and plantations for climate mitigation," published today in Nature Climate Change! When we map greenhouse-gas abatement cost ($/tCO2) for two common reforestation methods across 138 low- and middle-income countries, we find that: -Natural regeneration (46%) and plantations (54%) each have lower abatement cost than the other across about half the land suitable for reforestation -A combination of the two reforestation methods can outperform either method on its own by 39-44% -By applying each method where it is more cost-effective, reforestation could achieve up to ten times more mitigation below $20/tCO2 than previously estimated by the IPCC Paper (open access): https://lnkd.in/g7GzvV2c Research briefing: https://lnkd.in/gVF7txPn Nature blog: https://lnkd.in/gzuwFYsG Conservation International blog: https://lnkd.in/g9g7Qtsg Data: https://lnkd.in/gs57FdXg Co-authors: Jacob Bukoski Susan Cook-Patton, Ph.D. Bronson Griscom David Kaczan Matthew Potts Yuanyuan Yi Jeff Vincent

Our new paper - ably led by Jonah Busch is out! See Jonah's post below for a summary of some of the most compelling results, but for the data folks out there (like myself) - I'm also very excited because this paper includes new and spatially explicit implementation cost, opportunity cost layers, pixel-level carbon accumulation curves for natural regrowth and plantations, and a map of the "most likely" predicted plantation species.

The final North Atlantic Right Whale and Offshore Wind Strategy announced by NOAA and BOEM makes for interesting reading. This strategy provides a comprehensive approach to managing the impact of offshore wind energy on the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. It is a significant step towards balancing the need for clean, renewable energy to address the climate crisis while protecting and conserving the right whale population. The collaborative effort between government agencies, industry stakeholders, and conservation organizations demonstrates a commitment to sustainable development and environmental stewardship. The North Atlantic Right Whale and Offshore Wind Strategy acknowledges the importance of considering the potential risks to marine life during the development and operation of offshore wind projects. By implementing measures to minimize impacts on the right whale habitat and migration routes, the strategy ensures that the growth of renewable energy does not come at the expense of wildlife conservation. This proactive approach sets a precedent for responsible and sustainable energy development that prioritizes environmental preservation. See the link below for further information. #RenewableEnergy #EnvironmentalConservation #Sustainability