Options for Achieving a 50% Cut in Industrial Carbon Emissions by 2050

Carbon emissions from industry are dominated by production of goods in steel, cement, plastic, paper, and aluminum. Demand for these materials is anticipated to double at least by 2050, by which time global carbon emissions must be reduced by at least 50%. To evaluate the challenge of meeting this t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2010-03, Vol.44 (6), p.1888-1894
Main Authors: Allwood, Julian M, Cullen, Jonathan M, Milford, Rachel L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air Pollutants - analysis
Air Pollution - prevention & control
Air Pollution - statistics & numerical data
Applied sciences
Atmospheric pollution
Carbon
Carbon dioxide
Carbon Dioxide - analysis
Carbon Footprint - statistics & numerical data
Carbon sequestration
Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change
Conservation of Natural Resources - methods
Construction Materials - analysis
Construction Materials - statistics & numerical data
Earth, ocean, space
Emissions control
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Industrial Waste - prevention & control
Industrial Waste - statistics & numerical data
Innovations
Meteorology
Pollution
Waste Management - methods
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Carbon emissions from industry are dominated by production of goods in steel, cement, plastic, paper, and aluminum. Demand for these materials is anticipated to double at least by 2050, by which time global carbon emissions must be reduced by at least 50%. To evaluate the challenge of meeting this target, the global flows of these materials and their associated emissions are projected to 2050 under five technical scenarios. A reference scenario includes all existing and emerging efficiency measures but cannot provide sufficient reduction. The application of carbon sequestration to primary production proves to be sufficient only for cement. The emissions target can always be met by reducing demand, for instance through product life extension, material substitution, or “light-weighting”. Reusing components shows significant potential particularly within construction. Radical process innovation may also be possible. The results show that the first two strategies, based on increasing primary production, cannot achieve the required emissions reductions, so should be balanced by the vigorous pursuit of material efficiency to allow provision of increased material services with reduced primary production.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es902909k