papers

Technologies and policies to decarbonize global industry

• Doesn’t seem to take into account novel technologies in framework, why is this? Think this is answered just before section 5

• Section 3.2 lists interesting promising technologies for decarbonising iron and steel production

• Air carbon capture is not yet feasible. Current capture technologies are expensive.

• Biomass as a carbon sink (wood in buildings, for instance) is an interesting concept

• Not too sure about Hydrogen as a primary energy source

• One challenge to widespread electrification of industry is cost. 4.2 lists other issues

• Not just efficiency in equipment, but in the whole system. Can we integrate systems more efficiently

Section 5 Demand side interventions

• Extending life span of infrastructure. Specifically, the life span where the GHG emissions are “embodied in the material”
• Material efficiency. Using less material for the same output. Life cycle assessment to analyse trade offs. Legal and market structures to facilitate more efficient use of materials
• Industry 4.0 ?
• Additive Manufacturing (producing products from computer aided designs) currently restricted to low throughout high cost products but is slowly developing. Global AM industry may exceed 21 billion in 2021
  • Could provide less scrap, less inventory needed, could also promote electrification, seems very promising. Does it tackle a lot or all of the issues from above (for example, steel production issues?)
• Building materials represent nearly 10% of global GHG emissions
• Using wooden structures, more research needed but could be the most efficient way to use forests to stop GHG emissions
• Circular economy, the end of life cycle for a product should be an oppurtunity to put it towards another use
  • Can use the product for longer
  • Transfer ownership
  • Re-manufacture the materials
  • Recycle
  • One key barrier here is that information about the material is lost, for instance, to recycle steel you need to know its alloy content etc. Could look at policies and market solutions here. Theres a paper here that starts with a TS Elliot quote
  • Can modify the product to encourage recycling and reuse (modularity etc.)
  • China’s circular economy promotion law?

Section 6 Policies

• Most prominent is carbon taxing. Its tech agnostic (doesn’t care or have to know how you go about lowering your GHG emssions). It also generates revenue for the government
  • Could be implemented as a carbon tax
  • Cap and trade system where industries must purchase credits to emit. Uncertainty about how much permits will cost but certainty about amount of emissions (unlike the carbon tax)
  • Best solution is probably a hybrid, with a price floor and ceiling for credits.
  • A concern is leakage, industry moving jurisdiction to cheaper taxing place
• Tradable emissions standards?
• Different ways the government funds R&D. Venture based investment examples here too.
• 6.2.3 Highlights some points as the why government intervention is needed to enable development. It’s kind of an argument against the market solving everything.
• System level standards is an interesting concept.
• Looking at reporting standards and how companies reduce their footprints