Converging for Climate Interventions: Negative Emissions Strategies for Positive Solutions

Abstract:

Multiple lines of evidence assessed in the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (USGCRP, 2018) demonstrated that: (i) Estimated cumulative cost over 35 years of reducing U.S. GHG emissions to meet a 2°C trajectory by 2050 ranges from $1 trillion to $4 trillion (US$2005) (ii) Annual U.S. cost of not reducing emissions is conservatively estimated at $170 billion to $206 billion (US$2015) in 2050 (iii) Changes in climate, human activities and ecosystem responses will alter the carbon cycle and future long-term removals of carbon by current land and ocean system sinks; and (iv) Understanding the mechanisms and consequences of such carbon cycle effects provide opportunities to make informed and innovative carbon management and policy decisions. Multiple options (e.g. see table) for such informed carbon-focused climate interventions across land, air, ocean, human settlements, as well as technological and governance realms were also evaluated in this decadal assessment which was led by the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group. Since the publication of this landmark sustained assessment, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) published the Negative Emissions Research Agenda (NASEM 2019) with specific recommendations for federal research actions. Subsequent initiatives by the public and private sectors have leveraged this renewed attention toward promising negative emissions research and implementation strategies by (i) encompassing scientific and technological breakthroughs in carbon cycle observations, monitoring and predictions and (ii) incorporating considerations of human interactions in multi-dimensional systems. This presentation will cover some of these research opportunities that are converging across multi-disciplinary platforms to seek and promote innovative solutions for climate change mitigation by reducing carbon emissions and enhancing Carbon Dioxide Removal strategies for negative emissions.

USGCRP. 2018. Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2): A Sustained Assessment Report. [Cavallaro, N., G. Shrestha, R. Birdsey, M. A. Mayes, R. G. Najjar, S. C. Reed, P. Romero-Lankao, and Z. Zhu (eds.)].

NASEM. 2019. Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.