Query: carbon neutrality

title: A Long Cycle Life Lithium CO2 Battery with Carbon Neutrality.
abstract: Lithium CO2 batteries are attractive energy storage systems for fulfilling the demand of future large scale applications such as electric vehicles due to their high specific energy density. However, a major challenge with Li CO2 batteries is to attain reversible formation and decomposition of the Li2 CO3 and carbon discharge products. A fully reversible Li CO2 battery is developed with overall carbon neutrality using MoS2 nanoflakes as a cathode catalyst combined with an ionic liquid/dimethyl sulfoxide electrolyte. This combination of materials produces a multicomponent composite (Li2 CO3 /C) product. The battery shows a superior long cycle life of 500 for a fixed 500 mAh g 1 capacity per cycle, far exceeding the best cycling stability reported in Li CO2 batteries. The long cycle life demonstrates that chemical transformations, making and breaking covalent CO bonds can be used in energy storage systems. Theoretical calculations are used to deduce a mechanism for the reversible discharge/charge processes and explain how the carbon interface with Li2 CO3 provides the electronic conduction needed for the oxidation of Li2 CO3 and carbon to generate the CO2 on charge. This achievement paves the way for the use of CO2 in advanced energy storage systems.

title: Pathways to carbon neutrality for the Australian red meat sector
abstract: The Australian red meat industry is an important contributor to the national economy and international markets. A focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from this sector presents an important opportunity for the sustainability of the industry and to enable Australia to achieve its commitments set under the Paris climate agreement. Here we show that through changes in land management and application of technologies to reduce enteric methane emissions from grazing livestock it is possible for the Australian red meat industry to substantially reduce GHG emissions, and even become carbon neutral. We calculated baseline (2005) and current (2015) GHG emissions for the red meat sector, then examined the mitigation potential and costs of potential pathways to reduce and offset emissions. Emissions from the Australian red meat industry have decreased from 124.1 Mt CO2e in 2005 to 68.6 Mt CO2e in 2015, primarily through reductions in land clearing. Achieving carbon neutrality is possible with continued improvements in vegetation management combined with methods to reduce livestock emissions, sequester carbon, and maintain animal numbers. While possible, this ambitious target will require timely and substantial investment and policy support from private and government bodies.

title: Attaining carbon neutrality in Finnish parliamentary and city council debates
abstract: This article examines how political actors at different scales present desirable governance options for reaching carbon neutrality in Finland. The analysis is based on documentary materials and speeches in the national parliament of Finland and the city council of Helsinki in the years 2011 2015. I show how in Finland carbon neutrality serves as a broad sociotechnical imaginary that unites political actors across scales. Due to its interpretative flexibility, this imaginary accommodates different pathways to attain it. While politicians in the national parliament call for a stable and predictable policy environment, politicians on the city council demand adaptive and flexible policy measures for reaching carbon neutrality. What is presented as "good policy" for carbon neutrality differs significantly across the two levels of governance. This demonstrates the importance of distinguishing between sociotechnical imaginaries and the proposed policy means to attain them.

title: Analyzing National and Local Pathways to Carbon Neutrality from Technology, Emissions, and Resilience Perspectives Case of Finland
abstract: The Paris Climate Accord calls for urgent CO2 reductions. Here we investigate low and zero carbon pathways based on clean electricity and sector coupling. Effects from different spatialities are considered through city and national cases (Helsinki and Finland) The methodology employs techno economic energy system optimization, including resilience aspects. In the Finnish case, wind, nuclear, and biomass coupled to power to heat and other flexibility measures could provide a cost effective carbon neutral pathway (annual costs 18% but nuclear and wind are, to some extent, exclusionary. A (near) carbon neutral energy system seems possible even without nuclear 94% CO2) Zero carbon energy production benefits from a stronger link to the broader electricity market albeit flexibility measures. On the city level, wind would not easily replace local combined heat and power (CHP) but may increase electricity export. In the Helsinki case, a business as usual approach could halve emissions and annual costs, while in a comprehensive zero emission approach, the operating costs (OPEX) could decrease by 87% Generally, electrification of heat production could be effective to reduce CO2. Low or zero carbon solutions have a positive impact on resilience, but in the heating sector this is more problematic, e.g. power outage and adequacy of supply during peak demand will require more attention when planning future carbon free energy systems.

title: The potential carbon neutrality of sustainable viticulture showed through a comprehensive assessment of the greenhouse gas (GHG) budget of wine production
abstract: Sustainable agricultural and food processing practices are often proposed as attractive strategies enabling food systems to respond to the challenges posed by climate change in terms of adaptation and mitigation. However, information on the actual contribution to climate change provided by sustainable food production systems is lacking in literature. With the intention to contribute to a more informed debate, this study aims at quantify the actual impact on climate of sustainable practices applied to a grape to wine system in Italy. The overall budget of greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes is assessed at wine farm level, from the vineyard to the final bottle of wine, through an integration of methods, including the eddy covariance technique, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and the IPCC guidelines. All the components of the GHG budget have been considered: the (a) biogenic GHG fluxes and the (b) anthropogenic GHG emissions generated for the grape production as well as the (c) carbon stock change due to the vineyard management and the (d) anthropogenic GHG emissions generated by the transformation of grape into wine. At the vineyard level, the overall GHG budget resulted to be close to zero, showing a potential carbon neutrality of sustainable viticulture: the sum of biogenic GHG fluxes (a) and the carbon stock change (c) resulted in a net carbon sink with a potential contribution to climate change mitigation of 0,27 1,11 Mg CO2eq year 1 per hectare; while the anthropogenic GHG emissions (b) for the sustainable vineyard management accounted for 0,24 0,05 Mg CO2eq ha 1 year 1. The total carbon footprint (b d) of sustainable wine is 0,79 0,14 kg CO2eq per bottle, with 15% attributable to the agricultural phase and 85% to the transformation of grape into wine. These findings indicate that sustainable wine production has in general a lower contribution to climate change. In particular, sustainable practices applied to viticulture can turn the system into a net carbon sink able to totally compensate the anthropogenic emissions for the vineyard management. Therefore, sustainable viticulture allows food production with a potential carbon neutrality without exacerbating climate change.

title: Agroecology and carbon neutrality in europe by 2050: what are the issues? Findings from the tyfa modelling exercise
abstract: The latest IPCC report1 sets the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, 2070 at the latest. The sustainable intensification of agricultural production, in a land sparing logic, is most often considered as a necessary step to achieve this. In contrast, this Study questions the potential contribution of a more extensive agroecological food system (i.e. land sharing logic) It rests on a comparison of the TYFA (Ten Years For Agroecology in Europe) scenario with the agricultural component of recently published scenarios achieving carbon neutrality by 2050,2 using a multi criteria dashboard. The objective of climate mitigation is put in the broader perspective of transitioning towards a sustainable food system, taking into account the challenges of human health, conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, and adaptation to climate change.

title: Paths to Scalable Carbon Neutrality for MIT
abstract: The goal of this report is to provide actionable recommendations for paths to carbon neutrality from MITs largest group of stakeholders, students. In the report, we consider the optimization of emissions reductions, the timescale of solution implementation, cost, scalability, and the associated risks inherent to two different scenarios. Similarly, it leverages MITs strengths, such as its position as the world leader in technology and innovation as well as its financial strength, which enables it to make relatively low return investments and use contracting power to enable renewable projects.

title: Urban configurations of carbon neutrality: Insights from the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance
abstract: This paper examines configurations of carbon neutrality in the building and energy sector as expressed in the urban governance documents of the members of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA) 'Carbon neutrality' is a mutable idea, which makes it unclear what kinds of future urban systems are imagined. As self identified pioneers of deep decarbonization, the CNCA members are constructing ideas about what carbon neutral means and how urban systems should be changed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, climate governance policy documents provide a window to understand how these carbon neutral imaginaries are being constructed. The analysis draws on discourse analysis and textual network analysis to unpack the sociotechnical configurations that are planned to be mobilized to constitute carbon neutral built environments. Concept map visualizations are used to scrutinize planned configurations of objects (e.g. solar photovoltaics, district energy and energy efficiency technology) and policy instruments (e.g. energy use benchmarking and urban planning tools) The analysis shows three key building and energy configurations: (1) The District Energy City, (2) The Zero Net Energy City and (3) The Natural Gas Transition City. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that urban imaginaries of carbon neutrality are incorporating complex configurations of socio technical objects while, at the same time, distinct socio technical configurations are being favoured in individual places. These configurations inform socio technical imaginaries that will continue to drive policy outcomes over time.

title: Bristol's 2030 carbon neutrality goal. Some observations from the Urban ID Project
abstract: Scope of Presentation Introduction to Urban ID Some Definitions and Statistics The Green House Gas Protocol The Urban ID Approach Boundary and Emission Questions A Pathway to Carbon Neutrality Supporting Behaviour Change How Can UWE Help?

title: Agroecology and carbon neutrality: what are the issues?
abstract: The latest IPCC report1 sets the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, 2070 at the latest. The sustainable intensification of agricultural production, in a land sparing logic, is most often considered as a necessary step to achieve this. In contrast, this Issue Brief questions the potential contribution of a more extensive agroecological food system (i.e. land sharing logic) It rests on a comparison of the TYFA (Ten Years For Agroecology in Europe) scenario with the agricultural component of recently published scenarios achieving carbon neutrality by 2050,2 using a multi criteria dashboard. The objective of climate mitigation is put in the broader perspective of transitioning towards a sustainable food system, taking into account the challenges of human health, conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, and adaptation to climate change.