Carbon Negative Projects: Perspectives and Solutions

Vakha Khadisov

1 a

, Taymaskhanova Zalina

1 b

and Ayna Salamova

2 c

Grozny State Oil Technical University named after Academician M.D. Millionshchikova, Grozny, Russian Federation

Chechen State University, Grozny named after A.A. Kadyrova, Grozny, Russian Federation

Keywords: Carbon negative production, innovative technologies, natural resources, projects, construction.

Abstract: Global development has been heavily dependent on the overexploitation of natural resources since the

Industrial Revolution. Through the widespread use of fossil fuels, deforestation and other forms of land-use

change, human activities have contributed to a steady increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in

the atmosphere, causing global climate change. In response to worsening global climate change, achieving

carbon neutrality by 2050 is the most urgent challenge on the planet. In this regard, it is extremely important

and difficult to reform existing production systems in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help

capture CO2 from the atmosphere. Here we look at innovative technologies that offer solutions for achieving

carbon neutrality and sustainable development, including renewable energy production, transforming food

systems, adding value to waste, preserving carbon sinks, and carbon-negative manufacturing and construction.

The abundance of knowledge presented in this review can inspire the global community and further develop

innovative technologies to mitigate climate change and sustainably support human activities.

1 INTRODUCTION

Europe's emission reduction commitments under the

2015 Paris Agreement and its long-term goal of a

decarbonized economy by 2050 mean that both the

European Union and its member states will have ever

tighter emissions budgets. Reflecting the long-term

vision of both the EU and the UK (in the Climate

Change Act 2008) (Anshin, 2019). A country's ability

to realize a sustainable low-carbon future is

inextricably linked to its ability to successfully

decouple economic and emissions growth. The

successful emergence of this new climate-driven

economic model must be closely linked to the parallel

development of a carbon-free energy system. For

Russia to achieve its goal of decarbonizing by 2050,

we must ensure that the economy is first on the

appropriate low-carbon transition path. As a starting

point, policy makers should develop their

understanding and vision of what a low carbon

economy in the Russian Federation will look like by

2050 (Surowiecki, 2021). Policy makers must

identify appropriate measures and appropriate

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pathways to realize this vision. To minimize the costs

of a low-carbon transition, policy makers need to put

in place measures. Russia's key climate and energy

challenge is to reduce emissions in sectors not

covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) or

non-ETS sectors that cover areas such as agriculture,

transport and residential heating. Price signals will

encourage major energy producers and consumers to

increase their emission reductions through the EU

ETS. For non-ETS sectors, there are no such

guarantees. Therefore, policy makers have a central

role to play in reducing non-PTS releases,

recognizing that policy responses must be shaped in

the context of reducing future emission budgets

(Souter, 2019). A discussion of how Russia can make

an energy transition is most appropriate, given the

need to decouple emissions and economic growth

(Braverman, 2019). The approach to determining the

optimal energy balance was based on the use of the

cheapest technologies that have already been

successfully applied on a large scale. In accordance

with the PwC Roadmap, greenhouse gas emissions

from residential heating are reduced by 80%. This

corresponds to an approximately 71 percent reduction

Khadisov, V., Zalina, T. and Salamova, A.

Carbon Negative Projects: Perspectives and Solutions.

DOI: 10.5220/0011554000003524

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Methods, Models, Technologies for Sustainable Development (MMTGE 2022) - Agroclimatic Projects and Carbon Neutrality, pages

26-31

ISBN: 978-989-758-608-8

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

in average household heating demand (currently met

mainly by oil and gas) (Murtazova, 2021). This is

achieved through a combination of building codes

that call for emission-free new homes, coupled with

an extensive retrofit program for existing homes that

improves energy efficiency (better insulation and

airtightness) in combination with low-carbon heating

sources. Overall, in the industrial and commercial

sectors, we estimate that emissions reductions of

around 80% could be achieved primarily through

building regulation and the phased introduction of

higher carbon taxes until 2050 (Gakaev, 2020). In the

transport sector, our roadmap sees the mass adoption

of electric vehicles instead of traditional petrol and

diesel vehicles with heavy duty vehicles powered by

biogas in the form of compressed biomethane. This,

combined with the electrification of public transport,

can reduce transport emissions by 94%. Electric

vehicles are emerging as a “winning” technology due

to the expected further reduction in the cost of

lithium-ion batteries, an increase in the supply of

electric vehicle models, and the expectation that

electric vehicles will become cost-competitive with

internal combustion engines (ICE) from 2025. Our

model predicts strong adoption of electric vehicles

from 2025 onwards, and by 2050 all vehicles on the

road will be electric. According to our estimates, the

roadmap can achieve a 92% reduction in electricity

emissions. This will require a power grid built on a

significant portfolio of renewable generation.

Renewable power outages will be addressed by

flexible gas-fired generation used in combination

with carbon capture and storage. Our roadmap also

includes replacing existing coal and peat plants with

biomass-based generation and strengthening the

interconnection of electricity with key markets, which

will allow us to import and export electricity

(Vladimirov, 2019).

Climate change is undoubtedly the greatest

challenge of our time. The 2016 Paris Climate

Agreement sparked renewed optimism that the global

community can and will work together to cut

emissions and limit warming to safe levels. However,

science now shows with frightening clarity how

quickly we are running out of time to avoid

catastrophic and irreversible changes in the world

around us. We need to take urgent action to nearly

halve global emissions by 2030 and eliminate them

completely by mid-century. It is in this context that

the term "net zero carbon" began to come into use.

Businesses, government and civil society are

grappling with what net zero carbon emissions will

mean for them and how this can be achieved in

practice. This report aims to sort that out for the

construction and real estate industries, as well as

reach consensus on the actions needed to achieve zero

carbon emissions. The framework outlined in this

report is conceived as a first step towards the

construction of buildings that meet the goals of the

Paris Agreement, namely zero carbon emissions

throughout the life of the building (Molchanova,

2019). In practice, however, it would be difficult to

realize such ambitions today without better

measurement and emission data. Thus, the framework

presented here refers to two definitions of zero-

carbon buildings – one for the work energy used and

one for emissions during the construction process –

that should be adopted by any building environment

organization that is serious about climate change

mitigation. . Initially, the framework is meant to be

used as a guide, with more stringent standards and

goals developed over time to encourage further action

and accelerate change. This is a challenging and new

discipline for built environment professionals, so I

encourage everyone involved in the design,

construction, and operation of buildings to become

familiar with the framework and work with us to

develop the details in the coming years.

2 RESEARCH METHODS

Industrialization, the engine of economic growth and

urbanization, has accelerated the development of

various sectors due to the growth of the world's

population and wealth. By 2050, the world's

population is expected to grow from 7.8 billion

people in 2020 to 9.9 billion people, requiring 80%

more energy and 70% more food when the

accompanying rise in living standards is factored in.

Over the past two centuries, the world economy has

been heavily dependent on the overexploitation of

natural resources and changes in the life-sustaining

biogeochemical cycles and processes in the

biosphere. The current boom in oil use and

deforestation is a response to pressure to meet

growing demand for energy, food and other

commodities. These environmentally unfriendly

practices are the main reasons for the increase in

emissions from anthropogenic sources in (Egorova,

2020).

Industrialization, the engine of economic growth

and urbanization, has accelerated the development of

various sectors due to the growth of the world's

population and wealth. By 2050, the world population

is expected to grow from 7.8 billion people in 2020 to

9.9 billion people, which will require 80% more

energy and 70% more food when taking into account

Carbon Negative Projects: Perspectives and Solutions

the accompanying increase in living standards

(Meckling, 2020). Over the past two centuries, the

world economy has been heavily dependent on the

overexploitation of natural resources and changes in

the life-sustaining biogeochemical cycles and

processes in the biosphere. The current boom in oil

exploitation and deforestation is a response to

pressure to meet growing demand for energy, food

and other commodities. These environmentally

unfriendly practices are the main reasons for

increasing emissions of anthropogenic sources of

global greenhouse gases (GHGs), the main drivers of

climate change. In 2016, energy and food systems

accounted for more than 90% of all global GHG

emissions (mostly as CO2) (Vladimirov, 2019). GHG

emissions are expected to increase by 50% by 2050,

mainly due to the expected 70% increase energy-

related CO2 emissions (Molchanova, 2019). If these

emissions continue to rise at their current rate, it will

throw the carbon (C) cycle out of dynamic

equilibrium, causing irreversible changes to the

climate system. Therefore, a concerted effort needs to

be made to reduce carbon emissions and increase

carbon sequestration through various socio-economic

and technological interventions. In response to the

ever-increasing global greenhouse effect, all

countries signed the landmark United Nations

Climate Agreement in Paris in December 2015 to

jointly tackle greenhouse gas emissions and combat

climate change. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, all

countries agreed to keep warming below 2.0°C and

make efforts to keep global warming below 1.5°C by

achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 (Egorova, 2020).

The average global temperature in 2020 was 1.2°C

warmer than pre-industrial temperatures, and the

effects of this warming are being felt around the

world. Based on current climate data, there is an

urgent need to step up our efforts to reduce

atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases in

order to reverse global climate change.

To achieve carbon neutrality and sustainably

support human activities, it is essential to reduce

carbon emissions from fossil fuels and food while

promoting carbon sequestration in terrestrial and

marine ecosystems. Different strategic paths have

been mapped out in different countries to achieve

carbon neutrality, but due to the magnitude of the

flows involved, reducing carbon emissions to zero is

a challenging task (Meckling, 2020). According to the

International Energy Agency, if the world becomes

carbon neutral by 2050, the extraction and

development of new deposits of crude oil, natural gas

and coal should cease in 2021. In this regard,

investment in research and implementation of

renewable energy sources from non-carbon sources

(i.e. sunlight, tides, wind, water, waves, rain and

geothermal energy) and biomass (i.e. organic

materials from plants or animals) are the key to

bridging the gap between rhetoric and reality about

zero CO2 emissions.

Renewable resources can provide more than 3,000

times more than current global energy demand. The

global demand for renewable energy sources (in the

form of electricity, heat and biofuels) has grown

significantly over the past decade, with the share of

renewable energy sources in global electricity

production rising from 27% in 2019 to 29% in 2020.

Despite this progress in the use of renewable energy

sources, the pace of transition from traditional to

renewable energy sources is not high enough, and the

world is not on track to achieve carbon neutrality and

sustainable development by 2050 (Gakaev, 2020).

Therefore, additional efforts are needed to convert

energy. sector into a climate-neutral hub. This can be

achieved through the joint work of various

interdisciplinary research groups and the application

of integrated approaches developed as a result of the

latest scientific and technical achievements in the

field of civil engineering and ecology, biotechnology,

nanotechnology and other fields. In addition to the

development of renewable energy sources, there is

also a need to optimize the management of food

systems in order to improve production efficiency and

reduce carbon emissions. This can be achieved

through the development of new technologies for

more efficient fertilizer production and precision

farming, the integration of crop and livestock

systems, and the development of carbon neutral food

production systems. Given that the world is unlikely

to significantly reduce fossil fuel-based CO2

emissions in the short term, harnessing the power of

natural resources and processes to remove CO2 from

the atmosphere represents a viable path to carbon

neutrality. To mitigate climate change, various

potential strategies are being explored to increase

industrial carbon capture from the atmosphere and

carbon sequestration in terrestrial and marine

ecosystems.

These include bioenergy with carbon capture and

storage; increased weathering of rocks due to the

spread of crushed minerals, which are naturally able

to absorb CO2 on land or in the ocean; afforestation

and reforestation; carbon sequestration in the soil

with biochar, compost, direct application of biowaste

and conservation tillage, among others; ocean

fertilization through the use of iron and/or other

nutrients to stimulate the growth of photosynthetic

plankton; restoration of coastal wetlands; and direct

MMTGE 2022 - I International Conference "Methods, models, technologies for sustainable development: agroclimatic projects and carbon

neutrality", Kadyrov Chechen State University Chechen Republic, Grozny, st. Sher

air capture using chemicals to remove CO2 directly

from the atmosphere. The practicality, cost,

acceptability and usefulness of each of these so-called

negative emissions (NET) technologies for climate

change mitigation and its impact on global

ecosystems and human activities need to be assessed.

There have been many reviews examining pathways

to carbon neutrality, focusing on carbon capture and

storage from renewable energy sources in terrestrial

and marine ecosystems, and transforming food

systems. However, to our knowledge, no review has

compared strengths and challenges. of all available

new technologies towards carbon neutrality or

identified uncertainties associated with these new

technologies in climate change mitigation. This

overview focuses on new technologies to accelerate

our race to carbon neutrality in a variety of areas,

including for renewable energy, sustainable food

systems (increasing soil carbon sequestration and

reducing carbon emissions), maintaining the health of

Earth's largest carbon stocks (restoration and

protection). marine and forest ecosystems) and

carbon-neutral chemical industry. The dissemination

of information is expected to inspire the global

scientific community and generate interest in further

research into new ways to achieve carbon neutrality.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The World Green Building Council is catalyzing the

construction and real estate industries to lead the

transition to a zero-carbon environment through its

Advancing Net Zero campaign. buildings account for

about 30 percent of emissions, mainly from heating,

cooling and electricity use (Murtazova, 2021).

Whereas for new buildings, the embodied emissions

from construction can account for up to half of the

carbon impacts associated with a building during its

life cycle. The term "zero carbon" has a special

meaning in recent years of government climate

policy. However, this report is intended to introduce

an entirely new chapter. While the historical "zero

carbon" policy has only focused on operating energy

and simulated performance in new buildings, this

report very clearly expands the scope to operational

performance and covers the lifetime impact of carbon

emissions both new and, especially important,

existing houses and buildings. . Moreover, it is not

exclusively or even primarily a public policy report.

This report sets out a comprehensive framework of

coherent principles and indicators that can be

integrated into policy but primarily used by

businesses as a tool to move towards a zero-carbon

environment (Gakaev, 2020). The framework was

developed by an industry task force of enterprises,

trade associations and non-profit organizations in a

collaborative and consensus-building spirit. It

provides guidance on how to define carbon zero

buildings, both residential and non-residential, and a

way to demonstrate how a building has achieved

carbon zero status. It focuses on a carbon footprint

that can be easily measured and mitigated today –

operating energy and the embodied building impact.

However, a framework cannot be static, and this

iteration is just the first step. The scope and minimum

requirements of the concept will require periodic

improvements and upgrades over the next decade to

improve reliability and provide enough flexibility for

the industry to lead the transition to zero-carbon

buildings throughout their lifespan (Molchanova,

2019).

The Carbon Zero Building Framework sets out the

definitions and principles of two approaches to

achieving zero carbon that are equally important: Net

Carbon Zero Building (1.1) (Vladimirov, 2019):

“When the amount of carbon emissions associated

with the building product and construction phases to

practical completion is zero or negative, through the

use of offsets or net renewable energy exports on

site.”

Net zero carbon - work energy (1.2):

“When the annualized amount of carbon

emissions associated with a building’s operational

energy is zero or negative. A zero-carbon building is

highly energy efficient and is powered by on-site

and/or off-site renewable energy sources, with any

remaining carbon balance offset.

Developers aiming for zero carbon building

construction must design the building in a way that

ensures zero release of carbon for energy production

and, if possible, this should be achieved annually

during operation. Net zero carbon for both

construction and industrial energy represents the

highest level of commitment to this framework

(Gakaev, 2020). A third approach to net zero carbon

- whole life is also offered at a high level, but further

work will be needed to determine the scope and

requirements for this approach. The summary table

on the next page shows which principles to follow to

demonstrate compliance with zero carbon emissions

in construction and energy production. The detailed

framework in the full report includes the background

rationale for the principle, associated technical

requirements, and, where appropriate, any areas for

future development of the framework.

Excessive consumption of energy from non-

renewable resources increases energy scarcity,

Carbon Negative Projects: Perspectives and Solutions

greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and

environmental degradation, all of which endanger

humanity. As a result, humanity's environmental

consciousness and the transition to low-carbon or no-

carbon energy is now more of a concern than at any

time in the past. A number of global policies have

been developed to address these issues. Among clean

energy sources, renewable energy sources such as

solar, wind and ocean power are considered to be

among the most important and efficient means of

achieving carbon neutrality (Hibbard, 2019). In

addition to nuclear energy and hydrogen energy,

which have the advantage of low resource

consumption and low risk of pollution and are

identified as a strategic approach to national energy

security and the goal of carbon neutrality, bioenergy

is also the key to reorganization. structure of energy

supply and consumption. Key technologies for

renewable energy and the impact of these

technologies on achieving carbon neutrality are

discussed below. In particular, the future

development and possible progress of these

technologies are also presented.

4 CONCLUSIONS

In all cases, a developer, owner or tenant of a building

seeking to achieve zero carbon emissions must do so

in the largest area of the building over which they

have influence or direct control. In all examples, the

boundaries and corresponding floor area must be

clearly indicated to allow the market to judge the

extent to which the developer, owner or tenant of the

building has achieved zero carbon emissions. For a

carbon zero building, the boundary is defined as all

areas included in the lifetime carbon estimate that

have been reported and adjusted at near completion.

In the case of multiple buildings, the goal should be

to achieve zero carbon emissions for the entire

development. For net zero-carbon energy, the

operating energy frontier (or energy volume) is

defined as the sum of all areas under operational

control or influence that achieve net carbon zero on

an annual basis. The energy sector should be as

accessible as possible to allow comparison between

buildings. We have developed three principles that

can motivate developers to use zero emission

technologies (Meckling, 2020).

1. The polluter pays a fine (Egorova, 2020).

1. The costs of eliminating emissions should be

borne by the entities responsible for their

creation. To the extent possible, any emissions

should be measured and offset as they occur to

encourage reduction and mitigation as first

steps before any form of offset is considered.

Where appropriate, the operational use of

energy should be delineated between entities

that are responsible for and/or have the ability

to influence the use of energy.

2. Easy to measure net carbon balance. To the

extent possible, emissions from buildings

should be based on measurements rather than

estimates, and using the best available data.

Public disclosure of emissions should also

provide transparency on how this information

was collected and the approach taken by the

building to achieve net zero carbon emissions.

Operational energy performance should be

based on measured energy consumption and

energy production in use, while lifetime carbon

emission estimates should be verified and

updated at the time of completion.

3. Additional preferences for carbon-neutral

developers.

A zero-carbon building environment will require

a lifelong carbon approach to zero-carbon buildings,

but the framework outlined here is limited to areas

where measurement and mitigation is possible today

– operational energy use and embodied carbon from

construction. High-level principles and indicators

have been established for these areas to guide action

and encourage public disclosure. The future

development of the framework will introduce clearer

requirements and targets, such as minimum energy

efficiency targets, and expand the scope of a zero

carbon lifelong approach.

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