Date/Time
Wednesday
8 Feb 2017
8:15 am - 5:15 pm

Location
470 Stephens Hall

Event Type
Workshop

The Center for Science, Technology, Medicine & Society is hosting a February workshop on negative emissions technologies with The Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment and co-sponsor ASU LightWorks, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University. The purpose of this workshop will be to provide an introduction to CDR/NETs approaches. The primary objective will be to help non-governmental organizations in the environmental, food, land-use and forestry sectors develop positions on such technologies as they increasingly become part of the climate policy debate. However, we also invite participation by those interested in this topic from other sectors. The workshop will include a series of presentations on the primary CDR/NETs technologies, as well as ample time for questions and discussion. It will culminate in a group scenario exercise.

Visit the workshop site for the full agenda and confirmed participants.!!

Background

As a consequence of the feckless response of the world community to climate change, there has been growing support for research into and potential deployment of technologies that could remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and either store it underground or in the world’s ocean, or use it for other purposes. These options are collectively known as “carbon dioxide removal” (CDR) or “negative emissions” technologies (NETs). Indeed, the vast majority of the scenarios in integrated assessment models that hold temperatures to below 2°C contemplate large-scale deployment of such technologies by the middle of this century.

Some of the most widely-discussed of these technologies including Bioenergy and Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), Direct Air Capture, Ocean Iron Fertilization and efforts to enhance carbon uptake in the agricultural and forest sectors. While many of these approaches could substantially contribute to the world’s efforts to avoid serious climatic impacts, they may also present substantial risks and tradeoffs. For example, large-scale deployment of BECCS might require diverting substantial amounts of croplands to energy production, which could have serious impacts on food prices and food security; it could also result in ecosystem impacts that threaten biodiversity in many regions, as well as large diversion of scarce water resources. Ocean iron fertilization could also have serious ramifications for ocean ecosystems. Large-scale deployment of biochar could potentially result in “land grabs” in many developing countries that could adversely impact the livelihoods of vulnerable populations.