nitrous oxide
Newsletter
Credit: Pixabay
US and China work together to cut nitrous oxide emissions
The Biden administration announced a plan to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from chemical plants, aiming for significant greenhouse gas reductions through cooperation with China.
In short:
- The U.S. and China aim to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, a potent greenhouse gas, through a cooperative agreement.
- Nitrous oxide, 273 times more potent than CO2, significantly contributes to climate change and ozone depletion.
- Industry leaders and policymakers discussed these initiatives at a White House summit, emphasizing voluntary industry participation and carbon credits.
Key quote:
“This is a big opportunity. The fruit is large, it’s low [hanging], it’s ripe.”
— Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council
Why this matters:
Nitrous oxide emissions are a major driver of climate change and ozone layer depletion. Reducing these emissions could have a substantial impact on global greenhouse gas levels, comparable to removing millions of cars from the roads.
Keep reading...Show less
A precise tally of agricultural pollution? Farmers are working on it.
Fertilizer, fossil fuels and cows mean farming creates 10% of Canada’s carbon pollution. Measuring it all is a complex and uncertain task.
Image by Benita Welter from Pixabay
Japan is trying to use ammonia to make coal cleaner
New York Times reporters Motoko Rich and Hikari Hida write about Jera, a Japanese company that wants to blend ammonia with coal in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Japan says that by blending ammonia with coal in its boilers, it can make coal less damaging to the planet.
In a nutshell:
While most advanced economies have pledged to phase out coal in the next seven years, Japan remains an exception, insisting on finding ways to make coal less harmful to the environment. One such effort involves blending ammonia, which emits no carbon dioxide when burned, with coal in power plant boilers. Jera plans to demonstrate this technology, marketing it as "clean coal," but critics argue that it still extends Japan's reliance on fossil fuels and may even increase carbon emissions during the ammonia production process. As Japan grapples with energy alternatives, its commitment to ammonia technology raises concerns about protecting entrenched industrial interests and delaying the transition to renewable energy sources.
Key quote:
Ultimately, critics say, Japan is prioritizing the ammonia technology to protect entrenched industrial interests against new renewable energy suppliers. “They are fully aware that they are losers in this shift,” said Kimiko Hirata, a founder of Climate Integrate, a research and advocacy group. “So they are really big on protecting the status quo and vested interests as long as possible.”
The big picture:
Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas and a major contributor to air pollution, leading to the formation of ground-level ozone and smog. Prolonged exposure to these pollutants can cause respiratory problems, aggravate existing respiratory conditions like asthma, and increase the vulnerability to respiratory infections. As the world grapples with the environmental impact of fossil fuels, finding cleaner alternatives and reducing reliance on such sources becomes crucial in safeguarding public health and mitigating climate change effects.
Read the article in full at the New York Times.
For additional context on the health impacts of coal power read Brian Bienkowski's article about two 2018 studies that showed significantly fewer health risks for babies after coal plants close.
Keep reading...Show less
Newsletter
Photo by Piron Guillaume on Unsplash
Can hospitals turn into climate change fighting machines?
Inside the greening of American health care.
Newsletter
| BigStock Photo ID: 354697679 |
| Copyright: VectorMine |
A US non-profit aims to reduce emissions of a super climate pollutant from chemical plants in China
Carbon credits for nitrous oxide reductions could fill a key gap in international agreements and government regulations. A former industry insider says it’s a “reward for bad behavior.”
Newsletter
Mike W./Flickr/Commercial use & mods allowedhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Eleven chemical plants in China and one in the U.S. emit a climate super-pollutant called nitrous oxide that’s 273 times more potent than carbon dioxide
Proven, low-cost pollution controls could quickly curb those emissions, but neither China nor the U.S. require abatement measures used by other plants around the world.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command/Flickr
Scotland first to ban environmentally harmful anaesthetic
Desflurane gas has a global warming potential 2,500 times greater than carbon dioxide, NHS data suggests.
ORIGINAL REPORTING
MOST POPULAR
CLIMATE
