Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development: Challenges and Vision

Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development: Challenges and Vision

Sustainable development is the development method which takes into account the needs of present generation without compromising the wants of future generation. The idea of sustainable development was first institutionalised with the Rio Process initiated at the 1992 earth summit in Rio de Janeiro.

   In 2015, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) put forwarded the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which has to be fulfilled within 2030.They include 17 goals which touches upon various aspects of human life. They are No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, Reduced Inequalities, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life on Land ,Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and Partnerships for the goals. A quick view of these goals indicate that they mainly focus on three main area viz, social, economic and environmental aspects. These are the three main pillars of the SDGs. 

So, now let’s think about carbon neutrality. According to united nations, carbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, "refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestrated or offset”. Among the SDGs, we tend to connect those which have direct relationship with environment towards carbon neutrality. But beyond that, there is an implicit connection between the attainment of carbon neutrality and some of those SDGs. For instance, growing evidence, including from the Country Climate and Development Reports of World Bank, shows how a resilient and low-carbon development benefits thanks to a more efficient use of resources, lower congestion and air pollution, and reduced energy imports. Second, to make low countries' development sustainable over the long term, it should not lock them into dependency on outdated technologies and fossil fuels. Thus, the SDGs like No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Wellbeing, Clean Water and Sanitation, Reduced Inequalities etc can be achieved through carbon neutrality. Similarly, economic goals like Decent work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation, and infrastructure, Responsible Consumption and Production etc. also become attainable. Then the environmental goals like Climate Action, Life below water, Life on land also become possible and sustainable development would naturally follow.

Thus, we see that striving to attain carbon neutrality is really striving to attain sustainable development itself. That is, carbon neutrality is the key for sustainable development.

Challenges to attain Carbon Neutrality

Having said that, carbon neutrality attainment in the global level is a difficult task, which would require great effort and endeavour. There are many challenges which try to prevent us from reaching this goal. Understanding these challenges would make our journey easier. Some of them are discussed below:

Use of fossil fuels for generation of electricity

     Now the world moves forward with the help of fossil fuels. They are burnt for the purpose of generating electricity, heat etc. and causes a major chunk of global emissions. Most electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil or gas. It causes the emission of powerful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. These greenhouse gases are like glass ceilings which don't let the heat go out. Thus, they trap sun's heat and increase the earth's temperature. In India, who, is the third largest producer of electricity, 57% of installed electricity generation capacity came from fossil fuels in 2023. In global level too coal is still used for 35.4% of electricity generation, followed by natural gas. Thus, finding alternative sources of electricity along with increasing their capacity for large scale production is a huge challenge. The solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy etc are being leveraged for producing electricity. But their scale is very low.

Cement production

         Cement is the most widely used substance after water by human beings on earth. It contributes about 8% of carbon emissions.it is also to be noted that this amount is greater than the contribution of the aviation sector. If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, after the U.S. and China. Part of the reason cement produces so much carbon dioxide that it's so widespread. Concrete is the world's most widely used building material, and demand for it is growing along with urbanization. Under a business-as-usual scenario, "The emissions of the global cement sector alone are very likely to surpass the total amount of CO2 emissions of the EU" in the next decade, the World Wildlife Fund said in a recent report.

Deforestation and loss of vegetation

      As the world population increases, the need for furniture, firewood and generally the need of timber increases. As a result, more trees are being cut down. Trees and forests are carbon sinks. They absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce oxygen. If this is disturbed, the amount of oxygen decreases and that of carbon dioxide increases. Forest loss and damage is the cause of around 10% of global warming. Moreover, land is cleared for agriculture and similar purposes. A study, published in climate portal of Massachusetts institute of technology, states that Since 1850, about 30% of all CO2 emissions have come from deforestation. Deforestation can also have more local climate impacts. Because trees release moisture that cools the air around them, scientists have found that deforestation has led to more intense heat waves in North America and Eurasia.

Lack of political consensus

     Many treaties and conferences have been convened and signed by the world leaders for opting out of this climate crisis. This starts with the Montreal Protocol of 1987 and some other steps include United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 1992, Kyoto Protocol,2005, Paris Agreement,2015. There is a broad consensus between the scientific community that climate change is a reality. But some politicians are not ready even now to accept it as a reality. The intergovernmental panel on climate change has published its reports which summarize the severe effects expected to occur when the global temperature crosses the crucial mark of 1.50 C. But any concrete action has not been taken by the world leaders. The nationally determined goals each nation chose while signing the Paris treaty is not legally binding. Therefore, leaders are complacent in realising those aims. Thus, lack of active engagement from the political level is a major hurdle in attaining carbon neutrality.

Investment pattern of corporate sector

     Many multinational corporations and corporate companies are investing much in developing nations and underdeveloped countries due to cheap availability of labour and sometimes due to availability of raw materials. However, this has huge underlying implications for carbon emission. That is, when these companies invest in developed countries they can produce in a much more climate friendly manner, as those countries are able to afford those expensive climate friendly technologies. So, the cost of production will also be higher in those countries. But when developing nations are considered they are not in a position to implement those high-end technologies which are climate friendly. They would always prefer those traditional methods which are cost effective but are harmful to nature 

Frequent wars fought 

     During war, the targets of attack include infrastructure for production, storage or transportation of oil as we saw in case of Colombia, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Ukraine. Fires and spills will surely increase the amount of carbon emission. This an example of direct effect. Moreover, vegetation can also be a target, the destruction of which will result in release of CO2.In examples like Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, use of chemicals had military goals like clearance of forest cover. Agent orange used in Vietnam is an infamous example. It was meant to ensure visibility and to aid warfare. There are many indirect effects too. A report prepared by conflict and environment observatory titled how does war contribute to climate change gives its clear picture. They say that in the early phases of fighting, the main emissions will arise from damaged infrastructure, the loss of vegetation, and delivering humanitarian aid. When energy infrastructure and markets are impacted by conflicts but a need for fuel remains, people often turn to more harmful and less efficient alternatives. For example, in Syria, there is a crisis of artisanal oil refining, with little understanding of how the highly polluting practice contributes to emissions. The same is true of deforestation for firewood and charcoal, which is well-documented in the DRC, Yemen, South Sudan, Syria and elsewhere. Transboundary human displacement can contribute to the annual emissions from neighbouring countries, for example those of Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey from those displaced by the fighting in Syria. Thus, war have a devastating impact which prevents attaining carbon neutrality along with the common hardships caused by wars.

Increasing food consumption

     There is a concept named carbon footprint. It is the amount of carbon emitted for the production of a particular product. Food items also have carbon footprint. It is termed foodprint. So, the foodprint of an item includes the greenhouse gas emissions produced by growing, rearing, farming, processing, transporting, storing, cooking and disposing of the food you eat. So as production of food products increase, the amount of carbon also increases. Producing raw food materials like foodgrains and processed food items contribute to carbon emissions. It is emitted from machines used for cultivation, production, and distribution. Moreover, in higher income countries, more food is wasted, than in lower income countries. Aesthetic preferences and arbitrary dates of expiry are some factors contribute to wastage of food. So, this more amount of carbon is added to the atmosphere.

Changes in fashion trends

      Fashion trends tend to change over a period of time. This has multiple implications in carbon emissions. When new trends arise most of the people use a dress for only a limited time and they will discard that dress. Thus, similar to the case of food, dress is also wasted, in other way, the resources that were used for the production of that item is wasted; all process that was used for its production has become futile. This is due to the increasing consumerism of the world. Moreover, that the carbon impact of textiles is there at each step of fashion supply chain and entire life cycle of the product. According to the data provided by Fashion Revolution Community Interest Company,70% of fashion's emissions originate from upstream activities such as raw material production and processing and generally speaking, dyeing and finishing, yarn preparation, and fibre production tend to be the most carbon-intensive phases.

These are some manmade causes of carbon emission. Along with this there are some natural causes which result in hindrance of carbon neutrality. As these are natural cause we cannot prevent these. Some of the natural causes are the following:

Respiration of organisms

     Organisms including plants and animals breathe by inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. plants produce oxygen during daytime with the help of sunlight. During night plants too respire resulting in exhalation of carbon dioxide, this carbon cycle is continuous in nature. 

Decomposition of organisms 

       Decomposition means the process of organisms after their death being decomposed. During decomposition, the gases, minerals, nutrients etc in them 

are disintegrated and some of them assimilates into the soil. Among these components carbon dioxide reaches the atmosphere. Thus, decomposition of organic matter is a natural source of carbon emission.

Volcanic activity

     During eruption as well as through underground magma volcanoes erupt carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is released through porous rocks and soil. Therefore, estimates of global carbon dioxide emissions from volcanoes have to take both erupted and non-erupted sources into account. Occasionally, eruptions are powerful enough to release carbon dioxide at a rate that matches or even exceeds the global rate of human emissions for a few hours. Volcanic activity may pale in comparison to the carbon dioxide emissions we are generating by fossil fuels for energy.

Weathering of carbonate rocks

       Over geologic time, limestone may become exposed (due to tectonic processes or changes in sea level) to the atmosphere and to the weathering of rain. The carbonic acid that forms when carbon dioxide dissolves in water, in turn, dissolves carbonate rocks and releases carbon dioxide.

Occurrence of forest fires

     Forests capture carbon from the atmosphere in the trees and soils. When forests burn, vast amount of the stored carbon is emitted; but when vegetation in burned areas regrows, it draws this carbon back out of the atmosphere. So, this is part of the long-term cycle of nature.

 Ocean release of carbon

         As the world's oceans become hotter, their huge stores of dissolved carbon dioxide may be quick to be released into the atmosphere and increase the greenhouse effect, according to a new study. The ocean absorbs around 30 % of carbon emissions and hide it in their depths. This slows the march of global warming somewhat. But climate records from the end of the last ice age show that as temperatures climb, the trend reverses and the oceans emit carbon dioxide, which exacerbates warming. 

These are the reasons which make carbon emission reduction a challenging act. Effectively overcoming these challenges is necessary to ensure carbon neutrality and sustainable development. The urgency of the counter measures is evident if we analyse the harm caused by these carbon emissions. Some of the gruelling effects of carbon emission in large scale is listed below.  

        

       

    

 Effects of carbon emission

      Effects of carbon emission are being more evident day by day. There are many changes which are happening around us which make our lives more difficult. They are posing a huge barrier in attaining sustainable development.

Hotter temperature

    Newspaper report shows that 2011-20 is the hottest decade ever recorded in history. Similarly, July 6th 2023 was the hottest day in history and July 2023 is the hottest month. Hotter temperature causes many other related problems like heat domes, sun strokes, and many health problems. Hotter temperature causes melting of polar ice as well as ice on mountain caps.

More severe storms

  For the last 10 years the frequency of storms has increased. When we consider the storms which were formed around India, in both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, it can be found that there is a manifold increase in both number and severity of storms. India experienced extreme weather events almost every day in the first nine months of this year which led to nearly 3000 deaths, according to report released on November 29, which was published by the independent think tank Centre for Science and Environment." It's a deafening cacophony of broken records," said WMO chief Petteri Taalas.

Increased drought

Another effect of carbon emission is increasing instances of drought. Water scarcity has increased. Water which was considered a universal entity has now become precious and campaigns are being conducted to make people aware about its importance. As in the case of storms, drought has also been increased in severity. Severe drought will also result in loss of people's livelihood, increase the risk of disease and death, and fuels mass migration.

A warming, rising ocean

  An imminent threat of warming and rising ocean is present around the world. It especially raises concern about the small island developing states. As the countries like Maldives, Indonesia, etc are small, they don't contribute much to carbon emission, but they bear the brunt of carbon emissions more than anyone else. As an attempt to make people aware about the threat of rising sea level the people of Maldives conducted a session of their parliament under the sea. Similarly, Indonesia is trying to shift its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara as Jakarta is prone to inundation due to sea level rise. Moreover, as earth warms the ocean absorbs the heat and distributes it more evenly across the planet. The ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from earth's atmosphere. The additional heat and carbon dioxide in the ocean can change the environment for the many plants and animals that live there. Furthermore, the ocean's average pH is now around 8.1, which is basic or alkaline, but as the ocean continues to absorb more CO2, the pH decreases and the ocean becomes more acidic.

Loss of species

  Carbon emission causes loss of species. It has altered marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems around the world. Its consequences include habitat loss, shift in climatic conditions and in habitats that surpass migration capabilities, altered competitive relationships. Since sustainable development includes the welfare of all living organisms as the motto of G20 summit which was held in India shows (motto: Vasudaiva kudumbakam). Some rare species of birds, reptiles, plants, turtles etc are on the verge of extinction. The equilibrium between the organisms should be maintained for a healthy ecosystem.

Not enough food

  Carbon emission will bring erratic weather patterns. There would be no consistency between seasons. Earlier Kerala experienced a clear pattern of rainy, winter and summer 

seasons, but now it has changed. So, agriculture has become difficult. Crop loss is experienced either due to drought or flood. Thus, not enough food could be produced. This is true for the entire world. Similarly, livestock which is reared for the purpose of food also suffer due to this changing weather patterns. There are evidences that agricultural yield is decreasing due to climate change. Beyond a certain range of temperature, crops speed through their development, producing less grain in the process. There was also a reference towards increasing spells of summer heatwaves as the reason behind a decrease in milk productivity of cattle

More health risks

  Carbon emission causes various types of health risks. Direct impact on health includes respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. According to world health organisation (WHO), research shows that 3.6 billion people are already live in highly susceptible to climate change. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress alone. Climate change is also having an impact on our health workforce and infrastructure, which makes universal health coverage difficult. Moreover, climate shocks and growing stresses degrade the environmental and social determinants of physical and mental health. Injury and mortality from extreme climate events, water borne diseases and other water related health impacts, zoonoses, malnutrition and food-borne diseases non communicable diseases etc are some of the adverse outcomes of carbon emission and resultant climate change. The recently held COP28 observed one day as health day, which was unprecedented.health ministers from around the world endorsed the COP28 declaration on climate and health supported by 120 countries. There is a pavilion at COP28 venue especially dedicated for health.

Poverty and displacement

  Climate change increase the factors that put and keep people in poverty. Floods may sweep away urban slums, destroying homes and livelihoods. Heat can make it difficult to work in outdoor jobs. Water scarcity may affect crops. Over the past decade, weather-related events displaced an estimated 23.1 million people on average each year, leaving many more vulnerable to poverty. Most refugees come from countries that are most vulnerable and least ready to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Moreover, climate change makes people compelling to find alternative livelihoods. This sometimes change into level of social crimes like human trafficking and slavery. A clear example of this is the instances of child marriages and child trafficking in regions like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Challenges to tribal people

  Carbon emissions and resultant global warming affects tribal people very badly. It poses severe threats to their livelihoods, cultures, identities and ways of life because the majority of indigenous peoples have a close relationship with the environment, and are often dependent on land and natural resources to meet their livelihood needs. Despite contributing little to nothing in terms of the greenhouse gas emissions, several tribes have created or are developing innovative legal solutions to help address the negative impacts of climate change.

Along with this direct impact, there are some indirect effects of climate change which are manifested in our society very slowly, which reduces the pace of attaining sustainable development. They include the following effects.

Greenwashing

  It is a recent phenomenon which is related to climate change. It is a deceptive tactics behind environmental claims. One may wonder how greenwashing becomes a challenge to  

sustainable development. Most of the times it misleads the public to believe that a company or other entity is doing more to protect the environment than it is. It would create a false image in people's mind which would reflect in their actions too. Greenwashing undermines credible efforts to reduce emissions and address the climate crisis. It misleads consumers, investors, and the public, hampering the trust, ambition, and action needed to bring about global change and secure a sustainable planet.

Border disputes between nations

  Something that people rarely think about in connection with climate change is the changing of borders between countries. An examination of likely climate forecasts greater border conflict due to changes in rivers, glaciers, and seas. However, it is happening around us, more clearly in the Alps between Italy and Switzerland. Due to increased temperature, the glaciers in the alps are melting. These glaciers had been used to determine that the border between Switzerland and Italy. But with the recent melting, the accepted border no longer coincided with the terrain in that area. In the coming years, it will be important to see if there is an increase in these sorts of disputes. Similarly disputes over river water sharing between nations as well as various Indian states can also be considered as a resultant impact of climate change.

These are the various effects of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. 

Vision for sustainable development

 A thorough understanding about the challenges proposed by carbon emissions now bring us to the next question; how should we overcome these challenges? What should be our vision for the future? What is the way forward? There are some actions that should be taken by each of us to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by us. They are:

Save energy at home

Change your home's source of electricity

Walk, or take public transport, or use bicycles

Some of these measures indicate that we should take those actions which would reverse the effects of carbon emission. A simple method to protect the environment is to love and respect it. The concept of mother nature essentially puts forward this idea. Similarly, from ancient time onwards people gave a religious touch to nature. For example, in the case of India, sacred groves are a clear example of protecting nature by worshipping it. Furthermore, some large single trees are also given certain personal attributes, insisting people to think of it like a human. Looking from the perspective of nature protection, these were very effective methods. But in this modern era, people having more rational thinking may not accept this. They are devising novel methods to protect the nature. Let's take a look at some of these progressive steps.

Use of renewable sources of energy is the most effective step that can be taken for reducing carbon emission. Wind energy, Solar energy, Hydel energy, Tidal energy, Geo thermal energy etc are nature-friendly. Nuclear energy also reduces carbon. But it has many negative effects like radiation which harmfully affects people.

Use of electric vehicles can effectively reduce carbon. As one of the major sources of carbon dioxide is the smoke from vehicles, using electric vehicles will reduce pollution and carbon emission.

Hydrogen is a clean, versatile energy carrier that can substitute for fossil fuels in certain areas of energy use that are costly or difficult to electrify. As such, hydrogen can be an important enabler of decarbonisation in sectors including heavy industry, chemical production and long-haul transport (road freight, shipping and aviation)

Digitisation and artificial intelligence too can enable the optimal operation of energy systems and reduce overall demand for energy by cutting avoidable consumption

Using recycled plastic as a bitumen replacement in road construction is also another method. Among the fossil fuels that have already been taken out of the ground, a lot of them have been converted into plastics, which take over 1000 years to biodegrade. Some of those plastics can be recycled and utilised in road construction, creating a smoother ride, fewer potholes and a longer road life.

Geoengineering is a set of methods and technologies that aim to deliberately alter the climate system in order to alleviate the impacts of climate change. It consists of solar geoengineering, which does not aim to cut atmospheric CO2 concentrations and therefore does not address the root cause of climate change. Instead, solar engineering aims to reflect a solar small proportion of the sun's energy back into the space to counteract the temperature rise caused by anthropogenic emissions.

Manufacturing of biodegradable items instead of plastic plates, spoons etc. Materials like bamboo, cornstarch, potato starch and another material which is used for making biodegradable cutlery is bagasse which is sugarcane waste. More materials are added to the market every now and then as a result of continuous research. But the key lies in upscaling these products and expand its usage. 

A process called stubble burning, which is the process of burning the residues which are left in the field after harvesting. Its contribution to carbon emissions can be reduced by crop 

diversification and adopting integrated farming methods where the byproducts of one section is used for others.

Afforestation is another effective way of reducing the effect of climate change. Afforestation means planting trees in addition to the existing ones. A similar concept is reforestation where we plant new trees in compensation for those which were cut down. Social forestry offers another method of forest management.it is an approach that balances the needs of local people with multiple external interests

Another method of mitigating carbon emissions is through carbon capture and storage. It is a way of reducing carbon emissions, which could be key to helping to tackle global warming. It's a three-step process, involving: capturing the carbon dioxide produced by power generation or industrial activity, such as steel or cement making; transporting it; and then storing it deep underground. But this needs to be less expensive.

Avoid air travel whenever possible. If you fly for work or pleasure, air travel is probably responsible for the largest part of your carbon footprint, because aviation sector plays a huge role in carbon emissions. If you can't avoid flying offset the carbon emissions of your travel. A carbon offset is an amount of money you can pay for a project that reduces greenhouse gases that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere. But, this method many drawbacks. These carbon offsets are same as carbon credits. They actually mean permits that allow the owner to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. One credit permits the emission of one ton of carbon dioxide or the equivalent in other greenhouse gases. Negotiators at the Glasgow COP26 climate change summit in November 2021 agreed to make a global carbon credit offset trading market.

Carbon tax-It is a tax levied on carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more severe weather events. In this way, they are designed to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by increasing prices of the fossil fuels that emit them when burned. While carbon taxes are a price tag on fossil fuel emissions to disincentivize their use and promote a switch to green energy, carbon credits are tradable certificates or permits that set a maximum level of carbon emissions for industries, companies, or countries. Carbon taxes work at the core issue of reducing overall CO2 emissions. Carbon credits mitigate the problem, but they don't work at the core issue of reducing overall CO2 emissions. Carbon taxes have a significant impact on global carbon emissions. Carbon credits do not have a significant impact on global carbon emissions.

There are many simple easy steps which can help reduce carbon emission like using reusable carry bags, look for energy star products, change from incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs, switch off electrical appliances when they are not in use etc. Along with that, people should find more innovative ways which would effectively reduce emissions

All these measures help us to reduce carbon emissions to a large scale. So, all our activities should be focused towards a sustainable future.

Way Forward

    A concerted effort from the part of all people is necessary to attain a sustainable future. Sustainable development requires six central capacities. i) capacity to promote equity, ii) capacity to adapt to shocks, iii) capacity to transform development pathways, iv) capacity to link knowledge with action, v) capacity to govern cooperatively. Sustainable development is important because it integrates economic progress, social equity, and environmental stewardship. Attaining carbon neutrality is one of the ways to reach such a stage by developing these capacities. A native American verb goes on saying that we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. This realisation would make our actions climate friendly. The nations across the globe are trying to attain net zero. Various commitments have been made by the countries in the recent COP28 meeting at Dubai. The call given by India to other countries is to join Mission LIFE-Lifestyle for Environment and also launched the Green Credit Initiative. Thus, countries are moving very fast in the direction of environment protection. So, we can hopefully believe that the nations may not miss the bus to contain carbon emission.