Global Climate News - April 18
Managing Land Subsidence and Rising Sea Levels; New Zealand's Greenhouse Gas Inventory; Where to build Wind Power;
Managing Subsiding Land and Rising Sea Levels
Land Subsidence is the sinking of land, and can happen due to - tectonic shifts, depletion of groundwater, extraction of oil & gas, the weight of buildings on the land, and rising sea levels. Extraction of groundwater is an important cause, and many cities in Japan - Osaka, Tokyo - have long had laws that limit groundwater extraction to prevent subsidence.
In recent research, satellite data was used to observe subsidence in major cities of China from 2015 to 2022:
Of the examined urban lands, 45% are subsiding faster than 3 millimeters per year, and 16% are subsiding faster than 10 millimeters per year, affecting 29 and 7% of the urban population, respectively. The subsidence appears to be associated with a range of factors such as groundwater withdrawal and the weight of buildings. By 2120, 22 to 26% of China’s coastal lands will have a relative elevation lower than sea level, hosting 9 to 11% of the coastal population, because of the combined effect of city subsidence and sea-level rise. Science
Similar research was published recently for coastal cities in the US.
How are cities managing this?
restrictions on groundwater extraction Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka
replenishing groundwater aquifers - Shanghai
building water sinks - reservoirs that can help hold water such as parking garages, plazas, parks - Rotterdam, other cities in The Netherlands
Barriers to keep the water away - New Orleans (USA) has 350 miles of floodgates and levees.
The Netherlands, built largely on land reclaimed from the sea, has infrastructure built around managing water and flooding. A major flood in 1953 killed 1800 people and led the country to build a series of dams, levees and storm surge barriers to protect the land. The Maeslantkering is a massive sea gate meant to protect the port of Rotterdam - the city most vulnerable to flooding.
News from Governments
New Zealand reports that its GHG emissions between 2021 & 2022 were at the lowest since 1999, driven by - increase in hydropower generation, closure of an oil refinery, fewer cattle and sheep, lower use of nitrogen fertilisers, and lower emissions from road transport. Most emissions come from agriculture (53%) and energy (37%). Forests are a big carbon sink for the country and 84,000 hectares was added to forest area in 2022.
ET Energy | New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2022 (recommended)
Ships use scrubbers - a system that passes the exhaust through a liquid such as water - to remove sulphur from the exhaust. Denmark has banned the discharge of scrubber water from ships 12 nautical miles (22 km) from its coast, effective from 2025. Offshore Energy | Danish Shipping
The US Department of Energy announced new energy efficiency standards for commercial unitary air conditioners, commercial heat pumps, circulator pumps and dishwashers. Utility Dive | DoE Press Release
Scotland previously set a target to reduce GHG emissions by 75% by 2030. The government has now said this is difficult to achieve and it will follow a ‘carbon budget’ plan similar to that used by UK. New policy actions focus on - reducing car use and switching to EVs, more EV charging, boosting public transport use, lower aviation emissions (using sustainable aviation fuels is proposed), reducing methane emissions from livestock, land management and better farming. ECEEE | Climate change action: policy package (April 18, 2024)
Top Stories
A new study classifies a favourable wind site as one with high power density, low seasonal variability and low weather variability. As per these parameters, the American Midwest, Northeastern Canada, Australia, the Sahara, Argentina, parts of Central Asia, and Southern Africa rank the highest for generating power using wind. Power Technology | Article in nature
UK-based PowerPanel has built a portable device that uses solar modules to power a water heating and filtration system. It can be used to provide hot water, and drinking water in off-grid areas or those affected by disasters. pv magazine | PowerPanel Gen2O Portable (PDF) | How it works (video)
MIT researchers are training AI models to identify and count shellfish larvae - a task important in $1.5 billion (in US) aquaculture industry. MIT News
Large automakers and suppliers have collectively released a standardised template for suppliers to report emissions. Automotive Dive
What’s needed to claim hydrogen production tax credits in the US and RMI on what can boost hydrogen production in the US
IAEA Publication on Approaches to Cost-Benefit Analysis of New Nuclear Power Projects (PDF)
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Best,
Soumya Gupta
Founder, Telborg.com | SummaryWithAI.com
LinkedIn | Twitter | soumya@telborg.com
