CEP Newsletter

Planting trees far less effective than we think, Geothermal carbon capture and Fixing AI’s energy appetite

In this issue:

Planting trees has become a mainstay of emissions mitigation and will remain so but new research from the UK indicates that because of counter-productive side effects such as changes to other greenhouse gases (methane and ozone) and the earth’s reflectivity, the counter-warming effect of the CO2 capture is reduced by as much as a third.

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We often report on the energy consumption of data centres, currently around 1% of global electricity consumption with predictions indicating this could grow to 8% with the explosion in expected demand caused by AI. Chinese scientists have developed a new data storage technique that dramatically reduces the physical size of storage hardware and the amount of energy that will be required to keep server rooms functioning under the right conditions. Optical data storage (ODS) is conceptually similar to DVD-style storage but operates in three dimensions and with hundreds of layers, a DVD uses a single layer. The result is a one micrometre thick storage disc that holds the same amount of data as 24 data centre hard drives. Upscaling that swaps out a large warehouse-sized installation for a small room, with corresponding savings in consumption and cooling.

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That’s according to a new report from Carbon Tracker which claims only 37% of companies’ financial statements provide investors with adequate information on the integration of climate-related financial risks into their reports. 81% of the analysed companies fail to disclose adequately their quantitative assumptions and estimates and 70% show statements inconsistent with their climate narratives. Companies listed as failing to provide adequate information include ExxonMobil, Procter & Gamble, Walmart, Toyota, Hitachi, Honda, Bayer and Danone. Virtually all of the companies were audited by one of the big four auditing firms.

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In itself, geothermal energy is relatively low emissions but scientists from Ohio State University have taken this a step further by developing a carbon capture technique using geothermal power. Direct Air CO2 Capture with CO2 Utilisation and Storage (DACCUS) captures CO2 from the air and uses it to boost geothermal efficiency before storing it underground, not only providing low emissions energy but also removing atmospheric CO2 at the same time.

geothermal capture

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Paris is experimenting with collecting power from people entering and leaving its Metro. A two day pilot project using the turnstiles as turbines at the Miromesnil station saw 27,000 people provide proof of concept. Scaling to the 1.5 billion people who use the Metro each year would generate 136MW and save 30,000 tonnes of CO2.

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