scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Topic

Carbon neutrality

About: Carbon neutrality is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1470 publications have been published within this topic receiving 19669 citations. The topic is also known as: net zero carbon footprint.


Papers
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
11 Sep 2008-Nature
TL;DR: The results demonstrate that old-growth forests can continue to accumulate carbon, contrary to the long-standing view that they are carbon neutral, and suggest that 15 per cent of the global forest area, which is currently not considered when offsetting increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, provides at least 10 per cent the global net ecosystem productivity.
Abstract: Old-growth forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at rates that vary with climate and nitrogen deposition. The sequestered carbon dioxide is stored in live woody tissues and slowly decomposing organic matter in litter and soil. Old-growth forests therefore serve as a global carbon dioxide sink, but they are not protected by international treaties, because it is generally thought that ageing forests cease to accumulate carbon. Here we report a search of literature and databases for forest carbon-flux estimates. We find that in forests between 15 and 800 years of age, net ecosystem productivity (the net carbon balance of the forest including soils) is usually positive. Our results demonstrate that old-growth forests can continue to accumulate carbon, contrary to the long-standing view that they are carbon neutral. Over 30 per cent of the global forest area is unmanaged primary forest, and this area contains the remaining old-growth forests. Half of the primary forests (6 times 10 8 hectares) are located in the boreal and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. On the basis of our analysis, these forests alone sequester about 1.3 plusminus 0.5 gigatonnes of carbon per year. Thus, our findings suggest that 15 per cent of the global forest area, which is currently not considered when offsetting increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, provides at least 10 per cent of the global net ecosystem productivity. Old-growth forests accumulate carbon for centuries and contain large quantities of it. We expect, however, that much of this carbon, even soil carbon, will move back to the atmosphere if these forests are disturbed

1,532 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare various fossil decarbonization strategies and evaluate the potential of nuclear and renewable energy resources to meet the 10-TW target, and propose a scenario for the transition from current fossil-based to hydrogen economy that includes two key elements: (i) changing the fossildecarbonization strategy from one based on CO2 sequestration to one that involves sequestration and/or utilization of solid carbon, and (ii) producing carbon-neutral synthetic fuels from bio-carbon and hydrogen generated from water using carbon-free sources (nuclear, solar, wind, ge

743 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
19 Oct 2020-Nature
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the role of renewables, nuclear power and carbon capture in reaching the goal of carbon-capture-free electricity generation and showed that these three technologies can be used together to achieve the goal.
Abstract: Our special report examines the role of renewables, nuclear power and carbon capture in reaching this ambitious goal. Our special report examines the role of renewables, nuclear power and carbon capture in reaching this ambitious goal.

495 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the concept of carbon neutrality and made a comparative analysis of the gap between China, the European Union, and the United States vis-a-vis carbon neutrality based on international data.
Abstract: In response to climate change, the Chinese government has set a clear goal to reach its carbon peak by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, endeavoring to gradually realize net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This paper explores the concept of carbon neutrality and makes a comparative analysis of the gap between China, the European Union, and the United States vis-a-vis carbon neutrality based on international data. The main challenges China faces in its progress toward carbon neutrality are the following: first, China's energy consumption and CO2 emissions continue to increase, while its carbon peak has not yet been reached; second, carbon emission reduction in China is an arduous process, as the transition period allowed for the country to transition from its carbon peak to carbon neutrality is shorter than that of developed countries; third, China remains reliant on high-carbon fossil energy, with high energy consumption and low energy utilization efficiency; fourth, China's low level of economic development, compared with those of the EU, the US, or other developed countries, makes it relatively weak to withstand economic risks; and fifth, China's low-carbon and zero-carbon technologies are not mature. Therefore, this paper posits a three-stage/four-step strategy as well as seven specific suggestions that could benefit China's progress toward carbon neutrality.

399 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
06 Feb 2014-Nature
TL;DR: The results suggest that moisture has an important role in determining the Amazonian carbon balance, and the Amazon may become an increasing carbon source as a result of both emissions from fires and the suppression of net biome exchange by drought.
Abstract: Feedbacks between land carbon pools and climate provide one of the largest sources of uncertainty in our predictions of global climate. Estimates of the sensitivity of the terrestrial carbon budget to climate anomalies in the tropics and the identification of the mechanisms responsible for feedback effects remain uncertain. The Amazon basin stores a vast amount of carbon, and has experienced increasingly higher temperatures and more frequent floods and droughts over the past two decades. Here we report seasonal and annual carbon balances across the Amazon basin, based on carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide measurements for the anomalously dry and wet years 2010 and 2011, respectively. We find that the Amazon basin lost 0.48 ± 0.18 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C yr(-1)) during the dry year but was carbon neutral (0.06 ± 0.1 Pg C yr(-1)) during the wet year. Taking into account carbon losses from fire by using carbon monoxide measurements, we derived the basin net biome exchange (that is, the carbon flux between the non-burned forest and the atmosphere) revealing that during the dry year, vegetation was carbon neutral. During the wet year, vegetation was a net carbon sink of 0.25 ± 0.14 Pg C yr(-1), which is roughly consistent with the mean long-term intact-forest biomass sink of 0.39 ± 0.10 Pg C yr(-1) previously estimated from forest censuses. Observations from Amazonian forest plots suggest the suppression of photosynthesis during drought as the primary cause for the 2010 sink neutralization. Overall, our results suggest that moisture has an important role in determining the Amazonian carbon balance. If the recent trend of increasing precipitation extremes persists, the Amazon may become an increasing carbon source as a result of both emissions from fires and the suppression of net biome exchange by drought.

399 citations


Network Information
Related Topics (5)
Sustainability
129.3K papers, 2.5M citations
78% related
Global warming
36.6K papers, 1.6M citations
76% related
Renewable energy
87.6K papers, 1.6M citations
76% related
Sustainable development
101.4K papers, 1.5M citations
74% related
Climate change
99.2K papers, 3.5M citations
72% related
Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023483
2022906
2021434
2020128
201980
201866