User:TurquoiseFern/Zero Carbon Displacement

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Zero Carbon Displacement is a unique measure of an organization's carbon footprint which can be achieved when an organization uses carbon-free energy which produces zero carbon emissions.

Zero Carbon Displacement is distinguished from other markers of environmental sustainability. A study by Stanford University (2019) revealed that companies that claim to use ‘100% renewable energy’ often underestimate their greenhouse gas emissions. Accordingly, to claim Zero Carbon Displacement a business must be willing to provide hourly accounting of its energy sources instead of annual reporting. Crypto mining has pushed up demand for environment-friendly energy sources. Currently, 39% of all energy used for crypto mining is renewable. Zero Carbon Displacement requires strict analysis of an entire grid ecosystem to make sure that no additional fossil fuel based energy is being forced into use before it can be claimed. Once Zero Carbon Displacement is achieved a crypto miner or data processor associated with the blockchain can legitimately claim Zero Carbon Displacement. Under Zero Carbon Displacement power use must be drawn from grids which are  > 99% renewable source or from newly installed renewable power supply through direct feed in a closed loop with no fossil fuel back up for operations.

The concept of Zero Carbon Displacement was first used by the Norwegian People's Think Tank on 16 August 2021 in response to a post on Medium by ariNO.CTT entitled "I care about the environment as much as you do."

Alternative Fuel Sources to Combat Carbon Emissions

The energy resources that are claimed to have a substantial decrease on carbon emissions include Natural gas and Nuclear fission. According to the statistics provided in a Breakthrough Institute study, the increased shares of these two fuel sources have decreased the potential amount of carbon emissions by over 50 million metric tons. The method of measuring emission within an economy is referred to as the Kaya identity.

Share Amounts

The 1970s had nuclear fissions gain more shares which is a no carbon source. The 1990's saw multiple other low to no carbon sources gain traction with shares as well. Hydropower and Petroleum remain the same in terms of share growth and still see success despite this.

Net Zero 2050 Scenario

A hypothetical set of actions in order to reach global decarbonization made by the Network for Greening the Financial System was constructed in order for the goal of Zero Carbon Displacement to be theoretically possible by the year 2050. The cumulative funds needed to reach all the standards that the scenario proposes would be estimated to about $9 trillion a year starting in 2021 until 2050. These funds would be separated into a few categories that include low emission assets and moving high emission assets to low emission assets. Oil and gas production would see a significant decrease in operations should the scenario occur which would in turn render fossil fuels inefficient and unnecessary. In the long run, Internal combustion engine cars will be more expensive than the cheaper alternative of electric vehicles by around the year 2025 despite the initial costs of electric vehicles being higher on average. Car manufacturers would benefit from this realization if they decide to make the switch to electric vehicles and slowly reduce ICE vehicles in their production lines. Sectors that are involved in lower emission power sources would see a significant gain of demand for employment and could result in a job increase for those areas. Companies would see a big increase in product sales if demand for low carbon products are high and they are able to rework certain amenities. Steel would see a jump in price due to its low emission qualities and versatile usage which could see Steelmakers use alternative sources in order to produce the metal in order to satisfy the low emission requirements. Reworking of utilities to more renewable sources of energy will take a substantial amount of time to implement but would otherwise have no down sides in terms of functionality and carbon emissions.

Potential Offsets and Difficulties

There is a wide variety of potential problems that could be associated with this sudden change of infrastructure and industry. Steel, despite being a low carbon emission resource for building material, would most certainly see an increase in price as its demand increases. The necessary implementation of charging stations for the sudden influx of electric vehicles would yet again cost companies to implement and build upon. Depending on the industry, millions of jobs will be gained or lost and some will be completely shifted to better fit the standards implemented for net zero carbon. This could entail plenty of maintenance based jobs be lost due to its operations being shut down along with some agricultural based jobs being erased because of the carbon heavy goods that they produce. This also results in mass relocation for those that must find jobs that are in line with the net zero carbon objectives which could lead to higher housing prices in certain areas in which these operations are taking place.

Consumers would have to change plenty of habits and practices as well which mainly involve up front cost concerns. Heating systems would have to be switched from those that rely on fossil fuels and are instead replaced by systems that are fueled by alternative and sustainable means. This could subsequently cause an increase in pricing of these newly installed systems which could deeply affect those that are considered to have Low income and can not afford the services. Goods shipped internationally can also see an increase in price due to the increase in demand for certain goods. This would be rather specific to each product and each area that it is distributed. The shift of net zero carbon would not just affect utilities and goods but also eating habits. Beef and Lamb and mutton are more packed with carbon so diets of consumers would have to shift to eating Poultry and other carbon light meats. This could see an increase in price for those meats that are more beneficial to the cause and make it unaffordable to some if not handled correctly.

References

"Nuclear and Gas Account for Most Carbon Displacement Since 1950" https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/nuclear-and-gas-account-for-most-carbon-displacement-since-1950#:~:text=A%20new%20analysis%20finds%20that,nuclear%20fission%20and%20natural%20gas. Retrieved March 30, 2024

'The economic transformation: What would change in the net-zero transition" https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/the-economic-transformation-what-would-change-in-the-net-zero-transition Retrieved April 5, 2024