Significant contributors of climate change
Our planet has completely changed due to the change experienced in the climate (US EPA, 2021). According to Ritchie and Roser (2020), reflexibility of absorption of the sun’s energy and volcanic eruptions are among the significant contributors of climate change reported causing a difference in the warming and cooling of the earth. However, the primary cause of climate change has been carbon emissions, either naturally or through human activities (UNEP, 2020). These greenhouse gases have been of significant concern posing a substantial threat to our planet. Up to now, Carbon emissions from industries and their potential consequences are still of considerable concern. However, the topic remains controversial as some people think that proper environment management initiatives and the adoption of energies away from fossil fuel will lead to the complete elimination of Carbon and its use. In contrast, the other group of people and other countries who benefits more from fossil fuels believes that carbon plays an essential role in the current century, and eliminating it completely may be impossible (Gurría, 2019).
The current paper focuses on Carbon and the effects associated with fossil fuels. The other sections of the article also focus on why fossil fuel could not be eliminated despite the efforts that have been put across. The paper also describes the possibility for zero carbons and considers the measures to be adopted to eliminate Carbon (zero-carbon). Lastly, the report assesses the main challenges associated with energy transition away from fossil fuels, making conclusions based on the whole paper.
Fossil energy has been a fundamental driver of technological, economic, and social improvement, but they come with many negative impacts. The volume of Carbon emitted while fossil fuels burn produces carbon dioxide (CO2) that causes so much change and damage to the environment, climate, and the entire ecosystem leading to premature deaths. As per Henderson (2021), more than 8.7 million people are estimated to be killed by fossil fuel pollution in a year. In China, about a 1.2million people die each year prematurely due to exposure to outdoor Pollution (Zhang, Chen, and Li, 2021). Elsewhere cities like London have invested heavily in limiting some of the worst side effects of fossil fuel combustion. However, the deaths of those who perish due to fossils are estimated to go up soon, with the use of coal, oil, and gas being the significant attributions. Much more has to be done in the developing world’s mega-cities (Ritchie and Roser, 2020).
The overdependence on fossil fuels has led to the emergence of global warming. This scenario emerges due to Carbon trapping heat from the atmosphere and preventing its escape from the earth’s surface. Scientists have proved that global warming has emerged over the past centuries resulting in severe weather patterns, drought, and other associated problems. Global warming may also lead to precipitation, although some regions will experience arid conditions while others will be significantly wetter. More substantial carbon emissions are capable of melting ice sheets and glaciers and warming the oceans, resulting in increased sea levels. Later the sea levels will rise even further due to the warm effect caused on the ocean levels. If the use of fossils is not eliminated, some of these cases will keep on recurring in centuries to come (Henderson, 2021).
Impact of Fossil Fuels on Human Health and Productivity
Fossil fuels affect health and productivity due to their enormous effect on human beings, animals, and plants are also affects them. Increased smoke and air pollution cause more illness on the respiratory system of human beings and some animals. Additionally, Gurría (2019) reports carbon emissions may eradicate some animal species and destroy crops creating a significant impact o the sector of agriculture. Carbon emissions are said to contain carcinogens, increasing the risk of getting cancer. Experts point out that approximately have of cancer illnesses, and cases are related to outdoor Pollution from industries and vehicles. People who live near areas that experience fog and Carbon emissions have been reported to have high mortality rates that result from heart diseases, especially when the patients have diabetes. Premature deaths are a significant blow to business because the working population is affected hence low productivity (Gurría, 2019).
Despite the rapid availability of low-carbon sources of energy – nuclear and renewables – there is a need for the world to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels based on the effects discussed in the previous section. This can be achieved through adopting carbon mitigation strategies and rules to achieve zero Carbon globally. Attaining zero Carbon is possible, although it requires much time and effort from every individual, government, industry, and organization responsible for the carbon levels to zero globally. (Angel, 2021).
Although it may seem impossible, it is necessary to develop policies that aim at eliminating emissions to the atmosphere from the combustion of fossils fuels. This initiative involves adopting technical solutions that capture some emissions, such as the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technique. Getting to Zero Carbon will be achieved but not tomorrow or even by 2050. Initiatives should be implemented to arrive there in the second half of the century. This is due to the obvious reasons that Carbon should be eliminated, and just lowering it will never provide a permanent solution because carbon dioxide is a long-lived gas. Some will still be around the atmosphere after a thousand years, and the small emissions will add to the atmospheric concentrations resulting in accumulation problems (Koning stein, 2021).
It is possible that the world population, which is about 7 billion or more, can leave without interfering with the natural carbon cycle. Naturally, the human population has existed peacefully without interfering with the carbon cycle. However, Carbon has been exploited to produce food and fibre in recent years. Currently, over 30billion tons of carbon gas is paid annually for electricity, heat generation, and transport purposes. Additionally, agriculture and how we alter land still produce anthropogenic emissions. More people should be fed shortly, and this can be achieved by proper strategies that limit temperature increase (Piggot et al., 2019).
Many countries have put forward strategies, and others also announced their carbon reduction strategies (WHO, 2021). The World Health Organization conference held on 9 Nov 2021 reports that over 50 countries agreed and committed to developing climate-resilient and low-carbon health systems at the U.N. change in Glasgow (COP26) (WHO, 2021). Most strategies and plans are ambitious and target the yearly carbon reduction or mid-century. Some of the frontline countries for achieving low and zero-carbon include Argentina, Fiji, Malawi, Spain, the United States of America, and the United Arab Emirates. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimated that by 2020 we were a quarter and a half to where we need to be. UNEP further gives guidelines on supporting credible policies to help achieve zero Carbon. The guidelines were supposed to be adopted immediately to accomplish a lot in the next three decades (Environment, 2020).
The Possibility of Achieving Zero Carbon
Another area contributing to the journey towards zero energy is the adaption of renewable and vehicle and vehicle electrification. The E.V.s are believed to possess the ability to not directly emit greenhouse gases like other electrical grids which rely on fossil fuels. However, the EVS has shortcomings in their applications like they require new infrastructure like nationwide networks of quick-charging stations, and they also degrade the environment upon disposal. Although despite the shortcomings in their applications, studies have proved that E.V.s produce less emission than their internal combustion engine counterparts that directly use fossil fuels. Additionally, their costs are also reported to be falling rapidly, which makes them more affordable (Greene, Park, and Liu, 2014).
Measuring carbon footprints is another way that could help achieve Zero Carbon. A company or industry can see and appreciate the changes by assessing the quantity of Pollution produced by a given business. The carbon emission assessment is assessed through software like Net0 that allows monitoring of carbon emissions and their impact in real-time. This will enable counterbalancing it accurately. Once the emissions assessment results have been obtained, new management techniques and technological advancements can be adopted to try and eliminate Carbon soon (Brown, 2002).
Zero Carbon means zero dependence on fossil fuels and the adoption of other sustainable energy sources like wind power and solar. Burning fossils, for example, oil and coal, contribute to carbon emissions in an attempt to give out energy, thus contributing to adverse climatic changes. Strategies have been put across in countries like those in the European Union that help adopt solar and wind energy technologies. This has been practised in countries that are willing to zero Carbon. Countries that price carbon emissions have reported adopting the use of solar and wind power energy (Best and Burke, 2018).
Reducing emissions from vehicles and adopting good driving patterns and laws will help realize zero Carbon shortly. Changing driving behaviours and only driving during, when necessary, will reduce carbon emissions. Drivers are also encouraged to ensure the vehicles are correctly maintained by checking leaks, especially on the exhaust system. Vehicles are estimated to contribute about 22%of the annual produced gas used mainly by cars. Therefore, reducing vehicle movements will positively impact carbon reduction (Greene, Park, and Liu, 2014).
Despite the desire to attain zero Carbon and stop fossil fuels dependence, it will not be easy. Those in favour of fossil fuels get justified because two-thirds of electricity generation relies on fossil fuels. Additionally, about 95% of the consumed energy in the transport system sector relies on fossil fuels, making it hard to stop Carbon (Pichai, 2021). Many challenges are associated with energy transition away from fossil fuels, some of which are discussed below.
One of the significant drawbacks of zero Carbon is a shift to resource abundance. Best and Burke (2018) report that for some years now, there has always been that fear that scarce oil and gas will mean high prices, which will keep on going high as the carbon shifts towards zero. This belief has made the efforts to realize zero Carbon to be reduced to this belief. The fear of carbon scarcity has led to the emergency of more fossil fuel products. For example, the U.S. impacted crude oil production in 2020, followed by gas production in Brazil and countries like Canada and Kazakhstan. Up to date, countries like Iraq, South Arabia, Argentina, Russia, China, Algeria, and the U.S. possess recoverable shale resources and conventional reserves yet to be tapped. (Best and Burke, 2018).
Challenges Associated with Energy Transition away from Fossil Fuels
Another challenge hindering the adoption of other energy sources is the high costs associated with this shift. The rising extraction costs pose a challenge in terms of technology that should be adopted to avail new sources of oil and gas. It is projected that listed companies that try to find and develop new oil and gas sources will spend approximately USD674 billion in 2012. The fact is that there are more fossil reserves for oil and gas production, and the idea of shifting to something else does not sit well on some governments in terms of the economy. Due to these high costs for new energy adoption, most governments aren’t ready to incur the charges (Ings, 2014).
It is also difficult to start and invest in a new thing away from fossil fuels because huge investments have been pumped in this sector over decades, and moving to a different something poses a challenge. In countries like Russia and Brazil, the assets put across are huge and cannot be dumped overnight (Beam, 2017). This is because they can attract new capital quickly, unlike starting afresh on a new thing. The World Resource Institute (WRI) reports that about 1200 new coal-fired pants are at the planning stage with a capacity of 1400GW. This Is a clear indication that people are still venturing into this business they intend to run for a very long time, not willing to give in for the interest of those interested in zero Carbon. The Carbon Tracker Initiative estimates that at the current expenditure rate, the next decade, I am projected to see over $6trillion allocated to developing fossil fuels (Haghighi and Gooneh-Farahani, 2020).
Every government strategizes economically on behalf of its citizens. Countries that can produce oil and gas from fossil fuel take it to the market and take its share of the rent (Bhattacharyya, 2009). OECD governments are estimated to take in around USD200 billion per year from royalty taxes, payments, and revenue streams associated with natural gas rents and upstream oil. The share of such revenues usually is high. Countries like Mexico and Norway get up to a third of the claim. The payments also play an important role in emerging and developed countries. For example, Russia receives around USD150 billion every year from oil and gas, which amounts to285of the total government revenues (Rezaei Sadr, Bahrdo, and Taghizadeh, 2022).
On the other hand, OPEC countries extract Revenues of approximately USD600 to 700 billion a year (Shank, 2020). This country’s dependence on fossil fuel with their entire economy. All countries are currently searching for opportunities to exploit new oil and gas reserves, even in deep-sea shores. These revenues are channelled to activities and infrastructure of a particular country for their citizens, and therefore it becomes a challenge to stop carbo in countries like this (Bhattacharyya, 2009).
Conclusion
In conclusion, some initiatives have been taken by different countries in the attempt to address the carbon issue that has been reported to cause adverse effects to human beings and the environment at large. This includes the adoption of other sources of energy like wind and solar energy as opposed to the fossil fuel that is popularly used. Additionally, similar efforts lower and realize zero carbon have been encouraged by Non-Governmental Organizations bodies like United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). However, zero-carbon initiatives should be encouraged more and adopted globally despite the challenges faced by different countries. Bold decisions need to be taken to address the issue of Carbon and change the path. Every individual should be on the frontline to help the government identify ambitious and achievable goals that can be achieved cost-effectively. Globally the governments are neither on the track to achieve internationally agreed goals on nether execute the existing ones because we still experience Pollution and premature deaths due to the products of fossil fuels that directly and indirectly affect human beings.
The risks of fossil fuels are many, and therefore the government has to together optimal policies to eliminate carbon emissions from fossil fuels. A few measures need to be picked even if their effectiveness will take time to be recognized; they will be acknowledged in the future. Other alternatives for oil and gas have to be adopted, and also different ways to reduce the use of fossil fuel like minimal vehicle use will help us realize our dream. Realistic decisions have to be made about the economy and what the fossil fuel effects will cause in the future and develop a better plan to achieve a new growth dynamic which is global to ensure zero Carbon.
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