Comparative Study of the Carbon Emission Situation and Goals between China and India

As the two large developing and populous countries, China and India face the dual challenges of economic development and climate change. Both of them are active in carbon emissions reduction, while India also bears the pressure of being “benchmarked” against China. With taking China and India as the sample of a comparative analysis, and the statistical value of a long sequence as the basic analysis data, based on the detailed analysis and comparison of carbon emissions history, the carbon emissions situation of the two countries from various dimensions including economic development, energy reserves and consumption, etc. were comparatively analyzed. The carbon intensity and energy structure after achieving the objectives were measured and compared by focusing on the carbon emissions reduction targets in China and India. The comparative results show that: China’s total carbon emissions are greater than India’s, but the growth rate of emissions, per capita emissions are significantly lower than India’s, while the carbon intensity decreases significantly faster than that of India. China has taken more efforts to make commitments to carbon reduction than India. With India’s energy structure adjustment, the situation will be gradually better than that in China.     

Geochemical characteristics and isotopic reversal of natural gases in eastern Kopeh-Dagh,NE Iran

Natural gas samples from two gas fields located in Eastern Kopeh-Dagh area were analyzed for molecular and stable isotope compositions. The gaseous hydrocarbons in both Lower Cretaceous clastic reservoir and Upper Jurassic carbonate reservoir are coal-type gases mainly derived from type III kerogen, however enriched δD values of methane implies presence of type II kerogen related material in the source rock. In comparison Upper Jurassic carbonate reservoir gases show higher dryness coefficient resulted through TSR, while presence of C₁C₅ gases in Lower Cretaceous clastic reservoir exhibit no TSR phenomenon. Carbon isotopic values indicate gas to gas cracking and TSR occurrence in the Upper Jurassic carbonate reservoir, as the result of elevated temperature experienced, prior to the following uplifts in last 33–37 million years. The δ¹³C of carbon dioxide and δ³⁴S of hydrogen sulfide in Upper Jurassic carbonate reservoir do not primarily reflect TSR, as uplift related carbonate rock dissolution by acidic gases and reaction/precipitation of light H₂S have changed these values severely. Gaseous hydrocarbons in both reservoirs exhibit enrichment in C₂ gas member, with the carbonate reservoir having higher values resulted through mixing with highly-mature-completely-reversed shale gases. It is likely that the uplifts have lifted off the pressure on shale gases, therefore facilitated the migration of the gases into overlying horizons. However it appears that the released gases during the first major uplift (33–37 million years ago) have migrated to both reservoirs, while the second migrated gases have only mixed with Upper Jurassic carbonate reservoir gases. The studied data suggesting that economic accumulations of natural gas/shale gases deeper than Upper Jurassic carbonate reservoir would be unlikely.     

Coastal aquaculture,mangrove deforestation and blue carbon emissions: Is REDD+ a solution?

Globally, coastal aquaculture particularly shrimp farming has been under huge criticism because of its environmental impacts including devastating effects on mangrove forests. However, mangroves are ecologically and economically important forests, and the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics that provide a wide range of ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation. Carbon emissions are likely to have been the dominant cause of climate change and blue carbon emissions are being critically augmented through mangrove deforestation. Because of mangrove deforestation, different climatic variables including coastal flooding, cyclone, drought, rainfall, salinity, sea-level rise, and sea surface temperature have dramatic effects on coastal aquaculture. Mangrove forests have been instrumental in augmenting resilience to climate change. The “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD)” program can help to restore mangroves which in turn increases options for adaptation to climate change. However, technical and financial assistance with institutional support are needed to implement REDD+.     

张掖黑河湿地发展碳汇的优势与对策

根据国内碳汇发展现状,分析了张掖黑河湿地发展碳汇的优势与劣势,提出了发展湿地碳汇的对策。     

Study on Water Internal Recycle Process and Mechanism in Typical Mountain Areas of Inland Basins,Northwest China: Progress and Challenge

The water resource and its change of mountainous area are very important to the oasis economic system and ecosystem in the arid areas of northwest China. Accurately understanding the water transfer and circulation process among vegetation, soil, and atmosphere over different hydrological units in mountainous areas such as snow and ice, cold desert, forest and grassland is the basic scientific issue of water research in cold and arid regions, which is also the basis of water resource delicacy management and regulation. There are many research results on the hydrological function of different land covers in mountain areas, basin hydrological processes, however, there are only very limited studies on the water internal recycle at basin scale. The quantitative study on the mechanism of water internal recycle is still at the starting stage, which faces many challenges. The key project “Study on water internal recycle processes and mechanism in typical mountain areas of inland basins, Northwest China” funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China will select the Aksu River and Shule River Basin, which have better observation basis, as study area. The internal mechanism of moisture transfer and exchange process of different land cover and atmosphere, the internal mechanism of water cycle in the basin, and water transfer paths in atmosphere will be studied through enhancing runoff plot experiments on different land cover, analyzing the mechanism of water vapor transfer and exchange between different land covers in the watershed by isotope tracing on the water vapor flux of vegetation water, soil moisture and atmospheric moisture, improving the algorithms of remote sensing inversion and ground verification on land surface evapotranspiration on different land cover, and analyzing the water vapor flux from reanalysis data, and the coupling modeling of regional climate model and land surface process model. At last, the effect of different land cover in hydrological process of mountain area, and the impact of land cover on downstream oasis will be systematically analyzed.     

IPCC AR6报告解读：气候系统对太阳辐射干预响应

IPCC第六次评估报告（AR6）第一工作组报告评估了太阳辐射干预（Solar radiation modification,SRM）对气候系统和碳循环的影响。在大幅度减排基础上,太阳辐射干预有潜力作为应对气候变化的备用措施。目前,对于太阳辐射干预气候影响的评估都是基于模式模拟结果。评估主要结论如下：太阳辐射干预可以在全球和区域尺度上抵消一部分温室气体增加造成的气候变化（高信度);但是太阳辐射干预无法在全球和区域尺度上完全抵消温室气体增加引起的气候变化（几乎确定);有可能通过适当的太阳辐射干预设计,同时实现多个温度变化减缓目标（中等信度);在高强度温室气体排放情景下,如果太阳辐射干预实施后突然终止,并且这种终止长时间持续,将会造成快速的气候变化（高信度);如果在减排和CO₂移除的情况下,太阳辐射干预的实施强度逐渐减小至零,将显著降低太阳辐射干预突然终止产生的快速气候变化风险（中等信度);太阳辐射干预会通过降温作用,促进陆地和海洋对大气CO₂的吸收（中等信度),但是太阳辐射干预无法缓解海洋酸化（高信度);太阳辐射干预对其他生物化学循环影响的不确定性大。由于对云-气溶胶-辐射过程的相互作用和微物理过程认知有限,目前对平流层气溶胶注入、海洋低云亮化、高层卷云变薄等太阳辐射干预方法的冷却潜力和气候效应的认知还有很大的不确定性。     

Composition and origin of the volatile components released from the Pesyanoe aubrite by stepwise crushing and heating

Aubrites are achondritic meteorites (enstatite pyroxenites) that were formed in highly reduced magmatic environments on a differentiated parent body sharing a common oxygen isotope reservoir with enstatite chondrites (EC), Earth and Moon, and could be considered as a geochemical model of the early proto-Earth. Some pyroxenes of the Pesyanoe aubrite have high abundance of gaseous inclusions, captured during the crystallization of the rocks. Investigation of the inclusions by IR spectroscopy reveals presence of OH⁻ groups and C–H bonds. The former are assigned to protonated point defects in enstatite lattice and the latter to compounds occupying void walls. Molecular water and CO₂ were not observed. Volatile components released from the samples of the Pesyanoe enstatite by stepwise crushing and heating are composed of CO₂, H₂O and a non-condensable phase. Hydrogen isotopic composition of volatiles extracted in form of molecular water in Px-separates varies in the range δD = −61 – −84‰ with mean value of δD = −73 ± 16‰ VSMOW and is within the ranges of ECs and Earth’s mantle. The total abundance of H₂ in the pyroxene of Pesyanoe were estimated as at least 0.047 ppm that is too low in comparison with that of enstatite chondrites (≥30 ppm H₂) and could indicate nearly complete degassing of the Pesyanoe primitive precursor material during the Pesyanoe parent body accretion or a mantle degassing in igneous differentiation process. In a last case a primitive precursor could have D/H ratio different from that of enstatite chondrites.     

‘Filament’ marker beds in the Karababa-A Member (Turonian) of the Arabian platform,SE Turkey: Palaeo-environmental significance,stratigraphy and correlation potential

A ‘filament’ event bed/level corresponds to the occurrence of thin elongate calcitic, shells, or plates of pelagic, bivalve or crinoidal, origin, within pelagic, laminated and organic-matter rich limestones. These organic-rich limestones had been generally deposited under hypoxic/anoxic conditions in an outer-ramp environment. These thin elongate, bivalve shells, or crinoidal plates, are found broken in small pieces, disintegrated, or simply preserved parallel to bedding as almost complete specimens. Such ‘filament’ beds were spotted in SE Turkey in deposits, namely the Karababa-A Member, around the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary (C/TB) and above. On a global scale, these filament event beds illustrate sea-level rise related to eustacy and/or climatic change. The abundance of filaments close to the C/TB is a biological marker of high organic productivity resulting from a climatic change to warmer conditions. The prevailing higher sea-level conditions were then favourable to the accumulation and preservation of organic-rich facies, characteristic of the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2). Using both biostratigraphic and carbon isotopic data, those deposits were dated from the latest Cenomanian-Turonian age. ‘Filament’ event beds were recorded in the same order, except for some small differences. A good number of these bio-events are global. Consequently, on a global scale, they are susceptible to constrain the C/TB, especially the base of the Turonian stage, with a significant degree of confidence.     

新疆奇台县黄羊山石墨矿床特征、物质来源及成因

黄羊山石墨矿床位于新疆东准噶尔造山带南部的卡拉麦里地区东南段,是近年来新发现的国内外首个产于花岗岩体中的超大型石墨矿床。成矿地质条件、矿床地质特征研究表明,该矿床与黄羊山碱性花岗岩体具有密切的时空及成因联系,矿石具独特的球状构造,球体中石墨与长英质矿物及磁黄铁矿、黄铜矿等金属硫化物密切共生。为确定黄羊山石墨矿床的成因和成矿物质来源,本文开展了球状矿石中的石墨拉曼光谱分析和C同位素测试,对与石墨密切共生的金属硫化物开展S-Pb同位素分析。结果表明,黄羊山矿床球状矿石不同部位石墨的拉曼谱峰相似,显示具有很高的结晶程度,估算结晶温度为750～800℃;7件石墨样品的δ~(13)C值在-19.27‰～-19.90‰,分布非常集中,介于岩浆碳值和有机碳值之间,表明具有两者的混合来源。4件磁黄铁矿样品的δ~(34)S值集中在-2.3‰～-2.9‰之间,接近原始地幔值;在Pb同位素构造环境判别图解上,Pb同位素比值(~(206)Pb/~(204) Pb=18.114～19.040,~(207)Pb/~(204) Pb=15.448 ～ 15.543,~(208) Pb/~(204)Pb=38.253～38.915)显示较好的线性关系,延伸方向与地幔演化曲线的延伸方向基本一致;S-Pb同位素测试结果表明,与石墨共生金属硫化物具有幔源特征。综合黄羊山矿床成矿地质条件、成矿特征、石墨及共生硫化物的物质来源等研究结果,本文初步认为,黄羊山石墨矿床形成于碱性花岗岩的岩浆作用阶段,矿石中的金属硫化物来自岩浆混合作用中的幔源基性端元,碳质由于岩浆同化混染作用达到饱和,在硫化物的催化下沉积形成石墨。     

Would different methodologies for assessing carbon leakage exposure lead to different risk levels? A case study of the Brazilian industry

Energy-intensive industries play an important role in low-carbon development, being particularly exposed to climate policies. Concern over possible carbon leakage in this sector poses a major challenge for designing effective carbon pricing instruments (CPI). Different methodologies for assessing carbon leakage exposure are currently used by different jurisdictions, each of them based on different approaches and indicators. This paper aims to analyse the extent to which the use of different methodologies leads to different results in terms of exposure to the risk of carbon leakage, using the Brazilian industry sector as a case study. Results indicate that carbon leakage exposure is an expected outcome of eventual CPI implementation in Brazilian industry. However, results vary according to the chosen methodology, so the definition of the criteria is paramount for assessing sectoral exposure to the risk of carbon leakage.

Key policy insights

• Despite increasing discussion about the implementation of carbon pricing on the Brazilian industrial sector, the evaluation of carbon leakage risks is still neglected.

• Assessments of the risk of carbon leakage are directly related to the indicators and criteria used by each methodology. Thus, a given subsector may present different levels of exposure to carbon leakage depending on the methodological choice.

• More than a purely technical discussion, the methodological definition of carbon leakage risk is a political discussion – it can be well-conducted, leading to the success of a CPI, or even sabotaged, by implicitly subsidizing energy-intensive industries.