Ahmedabad (The Hawk): Urban areas will be severely impacted by climate change; hot days will become more frequent, and Gujarat's rainfall will increase. According to a report, municipal corporations must enhance forestation in places like Ahmedabad, Rajkot, and Surat while simultaneously reining in the use of chemicals.
According to a report published earlier this year, the Gujarat government has created an action plan for combating climate change for the districts of Ahmedabad and Rajkot in collaboration with the Vasudha Foundation and other organisations.
According to the report's conclusions, "Since 2005, emissions from the energy sector have climbed by 71.32 percent, those from the water sector have increased by 7.06 percent, and emissions from the greenhouse gas sector have increased by 78%. By 2030, emissions are anticipated to increase by 96% under the status quo."
Rini Dutt, the primary author of the action plan study, and others have underlined that the impact of climate change is anticipated to result in an increase in rainfall of 8 to 17% in Ahmedabad and 10 to 12% in Rajkot. In Ahmedabad and Rajkot, there will be more rainy days in July and August.
According to the report, both cities will see more heat in the next years. Recent years have seen a 10% increase in warm days in Rajkot and an 8–10% increase in warm days in Ahmedabad.
According to Dutt and Manjusha Mukherjee's projection, the number of warm days will rise by 53% in Rajkot and 45% in Ahmedabad during the next few years. The number of cold days will decline in both cities.
In Ahmedabad district, which makes only 4% of the state's population, urban regions are home to up to 84 percent of the people. As a result, the built-up area has dramatically increased, from 140 sq km in 1990 to 212 sq km in 2017. Forest and agricultural land are being devoured by the growing urban region.
Due to climate change, Ahmedabad will have more rainy days in July and August while experiencing hotter summers. The average maximum temperature in 2030 is predicted to be 41.8 degrees Celsius in May, 40.2 degrees Celsius in April, and 36.8 degrees Celsius in March.
Experts have advised Ahmedabad district to expand its forest cover to 7% over the next ten years in order to avoid 8.47 million tonnes of carbon emissions. Currently, the district has 1.62 percent of its land covered in forest.
The district administrations and municipal corporations in Ahmedabad/Rajkot must reuse 100% of home waste water after proper treatment in both urban and rural areas if they are to face the climate challenges.
Sewage Treatment Plants experts have recommended switching from anaerobic to purely aerobic water treatment methods (STPs).
The paper also recommended moving toward vertical urban expansion, which will allow for more people per square metre while simultaneously preventing the loss of open space and agricultural land.
(Inputs from Agencies)

Urban areas will be severely impacted by climate change; hot days will become more frequent, and Gujarat's rainfall will increase. According to a report, municipal corporations must enhance forestation in places like Ahmedabad, Rajkot, and Surat while simultaneously reining in the use of chemicals.

Gujarat's greenhouse gas emissions soar 78%; Ahmedabad heats up

Cambridge: In the fight to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, MIT scientists are turning to carbon-capture technology to decarbonize the most intractable industrial emitters. Steel, cement, and chemical manufacture are particularly challenging to decarbonize since carbon and fossil fuels are intrinsic in their production. Technologies that capture carbon emissions and convert them into forms that can be feed back into the production process may help to reduce overall emissions from these "hard-to-abate" sectors. But thus far, experimental technologies that capture and convert carbon dioxide do so as two separate processes, that themselves require a huge amount of energy to run. The MIT team is looking to combine the two processes into one integrated and far more energy-efficient system that could potentially run on renewable energy to both capture and convert carbon dioxide from concentrated, industrial sources. In a study appearing today in ACS Catalysis, the researchers reveal the hidden functioning of how carbon dioxide can be both captured and converted through a single electrochemical process. The process involves using an electrode to attract carbon dioxide released from a sorbent, and to convert it into a reduced, reusable form. Others have reported similar demonstrations, but the mechanisms driving the electrochemical reaction have remained unclear. The MIT team carried out extensive experiments to determine that driver, and found that, in the end, it came down to the partial pressure of carbon dioxide. In other words, the more pure carbon dioxide that makes contact with the electrode, the more efficiently the electrode can capture and convert the molecule. Knowledge of this main driver, or “active species,” can help scientists tune and optimize similar electrochemical systems to efficiently capture and convert carbon dioxide in an integrated process. The study’s results imply that, while these electrochemical systems would probably not work for very dilute environments (for instance, to capture and convert carbon emissions directly from the air), they would be well-suited to the highly concentrated emissions generated by industrial processes, particularly those that have no obvious renewable alternative. “We can and should switch to renewables for electricity production. But deeply decarbonizing industries like cement or steel production is challenging and will take a longer time,” says study author Betar Gallant, the Class of 1922 Career Development Associate Professor at MIT. “Even if we get rid of all our power plants, we need some solutions to deal with the emissions from other industries in the shorter term, before we can fully decarbonize them. That’s where we see a sweet spot, where something like this system could fit.” The study’s MIT co-authors are lead author and postdoc Graham Leverick and graduate student Elizabeth Bernhardt, along with Aisyah Illyani Ismail, Jun Hui Law, Arif Arifutzzaman, and Mohamed Kheireddine Aroua of Sunway University in Malaysia. Breaking bonds: Carbon-capture technologies are designed to capture emissions, or “flue gas,” from the smokestacks of power plants and manufacturing facilities. This is done primarily using large retrofits to funnel emissions into chambers filled with a “capture” solution — a mix of amines, or ammonia-based compounds, that chemically bind with carbon dioxide, producing a stable form that can be separated out from the rest of the flue gas. High temperatures are then applied, typically in the form of fossil-fuel-generated steam, to release the captured carbon dioxide from its amine bond. In its pure form, the gas can then be pumped into storage tanks or underground, mineralized, or further converted into chemicals or fuels.  “Carbon capture is a mature technology, in that the chemistry has been known for about 100 years, but it requires really large installations, and is quite expensive and energy-intensive to run,” Gallant notes. “What we want are technologies that are more modular and flexible and can be adapted to more diverse sources of carbon dioxide. Electrochemical systems can help to address that.” Her group at MIT is developing an electrochemical system that both recovers the captured carbon dioxide and converts it into a reduced, usable product. Such an integrated system, rather than a decoupled one, she says, could be entirely powered with renewable electricity rather than fossil-fuel-derived steam. Their concept centers on an electrode that would fit into existing chambers of carbon-capture solutions. When a voltage is applied to the electrode, electrons flow onto the reactive form of carbon dioxide and convert it to a product using protons supplied from water. This makes the sorbent available to bind more carbon dioxide, rather than using steam to do the same. —ANI

In the fight to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, MIT scientists are turning to carbon-capture technology 

 Energy-Efficient Method Of Capturing And Transforming CO2: Study 

Fukui [Japan]: Japan’s leading global provider of information and communications technology solutions, NTT Communications, is helping to reduce CO2 in agriculture. Based on collaboration with Yanmar Holdings, this project is moving forward. It is well known for its agricultural equipment and facilities. The project aims to get advantageous carbon credits.
In Ono city of Fukui prefecture, paddy fields are spreading to produce rice. Methane gas is created in large quantities throughout the growth process, with the greenhouse effect being 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. NTT Communication provides a sensor named "MIHARAS" in the paddy field for the reduction of methane gas enabling it to get big carbon credit.
“You can see it over there. "It is an IoT solution named " MIHARAS " for agricultural support." Connecting with the app, farmers can obtain various information, such as water level and ground temperature. Based on this evidence, the application of carbon credit is available,” said Daichi Mizushima from NTT communications. The "extension of midterm paddy field drying up" is being done in Ohno City Paddy Field. Methane gas is produced during the cultivation of rice crops. NTT Communications and Yanmar prolonged the midterm paddy field drying period by seven days. It reduces 30 percent of methane gas. “I think agricultural data should be managed by IoT. For example, I can immediately check the start and end of the midterm drying process on my computer. I think those data will be helpful for the next fiscal year and future work season.” said Masakazu Asahi, a rice farmer. NTT Communications and Yanmar promote steady rice crop production and brand it as "keep environment rice".&nbsp;
—ANI

Japan’s leading global provider of information and communications technology solutions, NTT Communications, is helping to reduce CO2 in agriculture

NTT Communications lead to significant CO2 reduction in agriculture

Dubai [UAE]: After gruelling negotiations, countries have reached a deal at the COP 28 summit in Dubai, calling for "deep, rapid and sustained reduction in greenhouse gas emissions" and "transitioning" away from fossil fuels in the energy system in an orderly and equitable manner. The COP28 climate summit went into overtime with negotiators scrambling to reach a deal. Finally, on Wednesday morning, the COP 28 deal was adopted. The plenary erupts in applause following the adoption. This was the third version presented to the countries in about two weeks.
COP 28 President Sultan al-Jaber said: "It is a plan that is led by the science ... a historic package to accelerate climate action." "This is the first time, we have language on fossil fuel," he said. However, the document does not speak about the "phase out" of fossil fuels as several countries were opposed to the term.  Instead, the document calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels in the energy system "in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science." It also lists 7 other steps to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The document signals that countries agree that fossil fuels need to be replaced with clean energy and reach global net zero by 2050. It is the first time fossil fuels have been addressed in the climate talks. The signed deal calls on the parties for tripling renewable energy by 2030 and doubling energy efficiency. It also recognises that the costs of renewables are falling fast. It carries the same text on coal from Glasgow, the current text calls for accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power. The previous draft document drew flak from European, Latin American and vulnerable island states after it dropped all references to phasing out fossils.  On Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), the document says new national climate pledges should be delivered in late 2024. There is very little on finance, an acknowledgement of the need for it, but no concrete numbers which means this becomes the main agenda item for 2024. Environmentalists have called the signing of the deal a "positive step however with gaps" Aarti Khosla, Director, of Climate Trends said that it is the first time that there is recognition of transitioning away from fossil fuels in a COP text- essentially meaning slashing not just coal, but also oil and gas. "The Dubai deal is positive, however with gaps. coming alongside an absolute recognition of a warming world, and the need to take rapid action within this decade, the outcome text makes real concessions for gas and oil," Khosla said. "The language doesn't give clarity on whether actual reductions in production and consumption will happen, or with increasing demand, countries will merely 'transition' their energy mix. These are issues with huge implications for the world," she added.  Ruth Davis, Senior Associate, at Smith School of Enterprise and Environment in Oxford acknowledged that for the first time ever, the promise to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 has become a formal outcome. "Food and nature have long been overdue for more space in the COP negotiating texts. For the first time ever, the promise to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 has become a formal outcome. And 150+ countries pledged to put food in their new climate plans. The forgotten third of global greenhouse gas emissions will be under proper scrutiny, provided there is funding on the table. What we need now is to deliver on the money, " Davis said.
—ANI

After gruelling negotiations, countries have reached a deal at the COP 28 summit in Dubai, calling for "deep, rapid and sustained reduction

COP28: Nations reach 'historic deal' on transitioning away from fossil fuels

Brussels: The world just experienced its warmest March on record, capping a 10-month streak in which every month set a new temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Tuesday.
Each of the last 10 months ranked as the world's hottest on record, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin.  The 12 months ending with March also ranked as the planet's hottest ever recorded 12-month period, C3S said. From April 2023 to March 2024, the global average temperature was 1.58 degrees Celsius above the average in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period.  "It's the long-term trend with exceptional records that has us very concerned," C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess told Reuters.  "Seeing records like this - month in, month out - really shows us that our climate is changing, is changing rapidly," she added.  C3S' dataset goes back to 1940, which the scientists cross-checked with other data to confirm that last month was the hottest March since the pre-industrial period.
Already, 2023 was the planet's hottest year in global records going back to 1850. Extreme weather and exceptional temperatures have wreaked havoc this year.  Climate change-driven drought in the Amazon rainforest region unleashed a record number of wildfires in Venezuela from January-March, while drought in Southern Africa has wiped out crops and left millions of people facing hunger.  Marine scientists also warned last month a mass coral bleaching event is likely unfolding in the Southern Hemisphere, driven by warming waters, and could be the worst in the planet's history.  The primary cause of the exceptional heat were human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, C3S said. Other factors pushing up temperatures include El Nino, the weather pattern that warms the surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.  El Nino peaked in December-January and is now weakening, which may help to break the hot streak toward the end of the year.  But despite El Nino easing in March, the world's average sea surface temperature hit a record high, for any month on record, and marine air temperatures remained unusually high, C3S said.
"The main driver of the warming is fossil fuel emissions," said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London's Grantham Institute.  Failure to reduce these emissions will continue to drive the warming of the planet, resulting in more intense droughts, fires, heatwaves and heavy rainfall, Otto said.
—Reuters

Record-breaking March caps a 10-month streak of unparalleled global warmth, signaling urgent climate change concerns. Scientists warn of intensifying extreme weather.

March marks yet another record in global heat

Chennai (The Hawk): Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers have identified the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal as potential storage sinks for storing large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). Called ‘CO2 sequestration,’ this process envisages the ocean acting like a storage reservoir for greenhouse gas which will help to decarbonize industrial clusters. The researchers found that CO2 can be stored permanently in the ocean in the form of solid hydrate beyond 500 m of sea depth through the liquid CO2, thereby can be helpful to make our industrial clusters carbon neutral. The key findings of this research is that it can help devise large-scale CO2 storage and utilize the fullest potential of oceans to decarbonize the world without harming marine ecology. This research can also help India achieve its National decarbonisation and climate change goals. The stored carbon dioxide can create an eco-friendly ice-like substance called ‘Gas Hydrates’. One cubic meter of gas hydrate can sequester approximately 150-170 cubic meters of CO2 under oceanic conditions beyond 500 meters. Thus, gas hydrates-based storage has huge potential to decarbonize India’s industrial clusters. This research will pave pathways to develop large-scale sequestration in subsea sediments that help the scientific community to fulfill India’s net-zero targets. The research was led by Prof. Jitendra Sangwai, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Mr. Yogendra Kumar Mishra, Research Scholar (Prime Ministers Research Fellow), IIT Madras. The findings were published in several research papers in reputed peer-reviewed journals including Energy Fuels (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.3c00581, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.3c02311) and Fuel (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2024.130990). Highlighting the importance of this research to India, Prof. Jitendra Sangwai, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “Methane hydrates have been in the ocean for millions of years without affecting the environment. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. This attracts researchers to explore the ocean to store CO2 permanently. Our analysis shows that at above 2,800 m depth, CO2 is denser than seawater, which offers an additional gravitation barrier for CO2 to escape.” Prof. Jitendra Sangwai added, “Our dependence on fossil fuels will continue for foreseeable future till we find reliable source of energy to completely replace fossil fuels. Thus, CO2 capture and sequestration is a very important precursor to achieve net-zero goal. Once CO2 is captured from source, it needs to be sequestered safely. CO2 sequestration in oceans will be beneficial for India as, according a conservative estimate, the Bay of Bengal alone can be able to sequestrate several hundred giga tonnes of anthropogenic CO2 in oceans and marine sediments, which is equivalent to several years of total GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission emitted by India. Some countries in Europe (e.g., Norway and Denmark) are working on CO2 storage in the North Sea.” Once the CO2 is permanently stored as a gas hydrates, it does not allow for any reemission into the atmosphere owing to gravitational and hydrate permeability barrier in the subsea sediments. The Key findings of their research include = Beyond 2,800 m of sea depth, CO2 liquid is denser than seawater. = Thus, beyond 2800 m sea depth, CO2 can be stored permanently in the form of liquid pool and solid hydrate, and = It will not permit any reemission into the atmosphere owing to the gravitational and permeability barrier offered by subsea sediments.  = The subsea clay sediments improve the mechanical and thermal stability of gas hydrates which help for long-term CO2 storage potential. Elaborating further, Mr. Yogendra Kumar Mishra, Research Scholar (Prime Ministers Research Fellow), IIT Madras, said, “There are different ways to sequester CO2 to reduce its impact on the environment. Using the ocean as a CO2 storage sink is an attractive proposition but storing CO2 directly into the ocean at shallow depth can harm marine life. Hence, CO2 needs to be stored permanently in the ocean in the form of liquid pools or solid hydrates beyond a certain depth.” Further, Mr. Yogendra Kumar Mishra said, “Another attractive option is to store CO2 in subsea sediments as this will have less impact on marine ecology. The subsea sediments have tiny spaces that can hold CO2 and over the period of time stored gas form ice-like gas hydrate crystals in the pores. This will further reduce the permeability of hydrate-bearing sediments and create a permeability barrier.” The IIT Madras Research team has observed that hydrate formation is more efficient and stable at higher clay concentrations. The clay inclusion in seawater improves the kinetics of hydrate formation as compared to seawater alone. Some promoters such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) further enhance hydrate kinetics synergistically with clay that will help in large-scale CO2 storage in subsea sediments.  Studying the concentration of clay, properties of additives, and local bathymetry information of the ocean can help figure out the best way to store CO2 in the subsea sediments. BACKGROUND The last 100 years of the Industrial Revolution have seen a significant rise in the living standards of mankind and industrial growth. Consequently, CO2 emissions were found to have increased from 5 Giga tonnes of carbon (GtC)/year to 9.9 GtC/year in the last 40 years due to the combustion of fossil fuels, construction, manufacturing, and various industrial activities. Moreover, expeditious urbanization, deforestation, and construction activities made the situation difficult in terms of CO2 emissions. Immediate steps are required to confine the global temperature increase within 2 °C and global carbon dioxide emissions to ~1100 Gt CO2 between 2011 and 2050. However, with the current and predicted use of fossil fuels and various industrial activities, it is a challenging task but there is also an opportunity to address it. CO2 sequestering offers a promising alternative to managing CO2 emissions and helping the world achieve its climate targets. There is no other attractive option than oceans as it covers 2/3 the surface of our earth.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers have identified the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal 

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Gujarat's greenhouse gas emissions soar 78%; Ahmedabad heats up

Pankaj Sharma

The Hawk

Tag : greenhouse

Gujarat's greenhouse gas emissions soar 78%; Ahmedabad heats up

Pankaj Sharma

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