Consideration of CO2 emission reduction and progress towards a carbon-free society

Shanghai has issued a red high temperature warning for several days, and the temperature of 40.9°C has tied the highest record since 1873. The root cause of the continuous high temperature and heat wave events in many places in the northern hemisphere is believed to be the global warming trend.

Global warming is happening at an unprecedented rate, and several weather data from the United Nations website can tell some of the difference.

Greenhouse gas concentrations reached new highs in 2019. Carbon dioxide levels are 148% of pre-industrial levels.

Greenhouse gas concentrations have reached their highest levels in 2 million years and continue to rise.

Today, I would like to share with you a panel discussion between Fuji Electric Technology Development Division and researchers from Kyushu University on "Issues related to global warming, energy, and environmental technologies."

The impact of CO2 emissions on global warming

CO2 reduction emissions are a growing concern, and according to studies, CO2 concentrations have increased by tens of ppm over the past tens of thousands of years, leading to global warming.

Now, it has risen by the same degree in just a few years, and it has changed so rapidly that historical data is no longer a reference for climatologists to predict the future.

In other words, it is impossible to predict the impact of the rate of rise in CO2 concentrations on the global environment.

Fuji Electric's initiative

Takashi Yoshida, Chief Engineer of Fuji Electric's Technology Development Division, said, "It is no exaggeration to say that the history of Fuji Electric is the history of energy.

We cover all areas related to energy, from power generation to power supply, transformation, distribution, and even the consumer side.

Among them, in addition to efforts to improve energy conversion efficiency to save energy, efforts are also made to promote renewable energy sources such as geothermal, hydro, solar, wind, and biomass. I am proud to be able to reduce CO2 emissions through these businesses.

Now, new information on zero CO2 emissions is being presented on a global scale. I think we can explore and create new solutions to achieve carbon neutrality in the future.

Chairman Saito, Chairman of the Innovation Promotion Department of Fuji Electric's Technology Development and Strategy Office, proposed that the defense posture against CO2 can be changed:

Fuji Electric's main viewpoint is to strive for greater efficiency, electrification, and the elimination of CO2 emissions as much as possible. However, I think that from now on, we can also consider recycling the CO2 emitted.

Nakagawa, manager of the Thermal Technology Research Department of the Energy Technology Research Center of the Advanced Technology Research Institute of the Technology Development Division, pointed out that as an entrepreneur, it is important to develop technologies to recover CO2, but it is also necessary to consider ways to reduce costs and increase profits.

CCS* that is expected to significantly reduce CO2

What is Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) CO2 capture and storage technology?

We may expect too much from a dream technology that can solve the CO2 problem once and for all. In fact, each CO2 reduction technology has its advantages and disadvantages. In CO2 reduction technologies, we must consider 3 factors:

01 How much CO2 can be reduced?

02 How long can CO2 be reduced?

03 Cost control

There is currently no technology that can meet all three requirements at the same time, and CO2 concentrations will continue to rise as this technology is developed.

Among these three factors, the first and second points show that CCS is an attractive technology. Because there was a lot of CO2 in the ground, we just buried it again.

Grasp the issue of carbon neutrality from a global perspective

In terms of how to spend money to reduce carbon emissions, Japan, for example, can switch to less carbon-rich fuels or start with lower-cost renewable energy sources such as solar power.

However, this alone is not enough to reduce emissions, and carbon neutrality will not be achieved if the method of spending money does not reduce emissions.

In contrast, it is much cheaper to reduce emissions in developing countries.

The world is trying to stabilize the concentration of CO2 throughout the planet, so from the perspective of consistency of purpose, it is better to cut costs around the world and reduce emissions in cheaper countries or regions than to target one country.

With this in mind, carbon credits must be introduced. In any case, efforts must be made on a global scale to reduce greenhouse gas emissions where it is easy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at low prices.

Pooling technology to realize a carbon-free society

Professor Tsuji of Kyushu University makes an interesting point:

"Originally, there was a lot of carbon on Earth. My dream is to make the most of the land and manage CO2 on the entire planet. In the future, a cold period may also come. At that point, the CO2 that has been sleeping in the ground will be able to be removed to warm the earth. When the temperature rises, the CO2 is filled back into the ground. This is like controlling the temperature of a room, controlling the atmosphere of the entire planet.

In terms of CCS, CO2 mineralization technologies are also emerging. In Iceland, about 95% of the CO2 pressed in is mineralized within 2 years, and CO2 sequestration is fast and stable. ”

Chairman Saito, on the other hand, believes that although there are still controversies, even good technology will not be able to spread without taking into account environmental and economic issues. From now on, we will continue to use the research of our professors to develop something that can contribute to society.

Regarding climate change, Professor Lin said at the symposium:

The most important thing is to be humble in the face of climate change, to understand the reverence for nature from a positive perspective, and then to think about the ideal state of society and industry in the future.

Many people think that climate change refers primarily to rising temperatures. But in fact, the rise in temperature is just the beginning, because the earth is a system, and everything in the system is interconnected.

Every inhabitant of the earth can do their part in their daily lives to curb climate warming, have you figured out what to do?

Consideration of CO2 emission reduction and progress towards a carbon-free society

Consideration of CO2 emission reduction and progress towards a carbon-free society

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