Veille 2.1

Climate change and human activities increasingly threaten lakes that store 87% of Earth’s liquid surface fresh water. Yet, recent trends and drivers of lake volume change remain largely unknown globally. Here, we analyze the 1972 largest global lakes using three decades of satellite observations, climate data, and hydrologic models, finding statistically significant storage declines for 53% of these water bodies over the period 1992–2020. The net volume loss in natural lakes is largely attributable to climate warming, increasing evaporative demand, and human water consumption, whereas sedimentation dominates storage losses in reservoirs. We estimate that roughly one-quarter of the world’s population resides in a basin of a drying lake, underscoring the necessity of incorporating climate change and sedimentation impacts into sustainable water resources management.

Group says forcing polluters to store carbon dioxide underground is needed to help world reach net zero

Carbon capture and storage schemes, a key plank of many governments’ net zero plans, “is not a climate solution”, the author of a major new report on the technology has said. Researchers for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found underperforming carbon capture projects considerably outnumbered successful ones by large margins.

A liquified natural gas (LNG) crisis is brewing for European countries dealing with energy insecurity in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as demand will outstrip supply by the end of this year, Rystad Energy research shows. Although soaring demand has spurred the greatest rush of new LNG projects worldwide in more than a decade, construction timelines mean material relief is unlikely only after 2024. Global LNG demand is expected to hit 436 million tonnes in 2022, outpacing the available supply of just 410 million tonnes. A perfect winter storm may be forming for Europe as the continent seeks to limit Russian gas flows. The supply imbalance and high prices will set the scene for the most bullish environment for LNG projects in more than a decade, although supply from these projects will only arrive and provide relief from after 2024 The European Union’s REPowerEU plan has set an ambitious target to reduce dependence on Russian gas by 66% within this year – an aim that will clash with the EU’s goal of

“blue carbon” (the sequestration and storage of carbon by ocean ecosystems) is gaining attention in the race towards net zero. And the “big three” stores of blue carbon – mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass – are suddenly urgent new areas of conservation.

From turning CO2 into rock to capturing the breath of office workers, a growing number of companies think the answer is yes

There are several ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere. One is called bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, or Beccs. Here, vast acres of fast-growing plants are grown and then harvested and burned to generate electricity or make biofuel for vehicles.

Operators say the Orca plant can suck 4,000 tonnes of CO2 out of the air every year and inject it deep into the ground to be mineralised

The industry has been pushing through policies devoting billions of dollars to the technology, and much more is likely to come with legislation pending before Congress.

« Les trajectoires énergétiques qui limitent le réchauffement moyen à l’échelle mondiale à 1,5 °C ou 2 °C d’ici 2100 supposent l’utilisation d’approches CCS en combinaison avec des réductions d’émissions pour obtenir des émissions nettes négatives de CO2 dans la seconde moitié de ce siècle. Par exemple, dans l’EES1.5, toutes les voies analysées limitant le réchauffement à 1,5 °C d’ici 2100 sans dépassement ou avec dépassement limité comprennent l’utilisation du CCS dans une certaine mesure pour compenser les émissions anthropiques de CO2…

An astute journalist I know once described carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a “delay-and-fail strategy” devised by the fossil fuel industry. The industry’s ploy was utterly obvious to him: Promise to perfect and deploy CCS at some vague point in the future. By the time people catch on that CCS won’t work, the fossil fuel industry will have successfully extended the time it has operated without onerous regulation for another couple of decades.

New research suggests social transformations that prompt “degrowth” could cut humanity’s climate footprint in time to meet the Paris climate agreement target.

Les procédés artificiels de capture et de stockage du carbone (CSC) suscitent la convoitise des investisseurs. Derrière le filtre « vert », explique l’auteur de cette tribune, se trouve la promesse d’une activité coûteuse à l’excès qui servira à favoriser l’exploitation d’hydrocarbures.