Carbon - Key facts and case studies

What is the average yearly carbon increase in the atmosphere?

4PgC

What is the average yearly carbon output from fossil fuels and cement production?

7.8PgC

How much carbon does the ocean absorb each year on average?

2.3PgC

What is the average yearly carbon output from net land use change?

1.1 PgC

How much carbon do sedimentary rocks and ocean sediments store?

100,000,000 PgC

How much carbon do oceans store?

38,000 PgC

How much carbon do fossil fuels store?

4,000 PgC

How much carbon do soil and peat store?

1,500 PgC

How much carbon does the atmosphere store?

720 PgC

How much carbon do land plants store?

560 PgC

How much more carbon is annually cycled through the biological cycle than the geological cycle?

1000x

How much of the extra emissions of C02 since 1750 have stayed in the atmosphere?

About half

How much more carbon do the oceans hold than the atmosphere?

50x

How much carbon do phytoplankton sequester?

More than 2 billion tonnes from the atmosphere to the deep oceans

How long does carbon take to move between rocks, soil, oceans and the atmosphere?

100-200 million years

How much carbon does volcanic outgassing emit annually?

0.15 to 0.26 PgC

What % of global greenhouse gas emissions does agriculture emit?

11%

What % of all carbon does the atmosphere contain?

1%

How much bigger is the soil store than the atmosphere?

2x

What amount of human carbon emissions are in the oceans?

1/3

What % of excess heat from climate change is in the oceans?

80%

What is the 100 year global warming potential of methane?

23 compared to CO2 which is 1

How much more carbon does cold water hold than warm water?

10% more

Amazon changes from climate change

Western Amazon has experienced increased rainfall

Eastern Amazon has experienced decreased rainfall - drought and increased risk of forest fires

What is the minimum temperature increase required to cause coral bleaching?

1-2 degrees celsius

What are the energy security issues in Canada and the USA?

Questions of developing reserves in the Arctic and other sensitive areas e.g. Yukon

What are the energy security issues in Western Europe?

Dependency, wastefulness, lack of domestic supply

What are the energy security issues in Russia?

Huge surplus, inefficient use, used as a political weapon

What are the energy security issues in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Energy poverty, reliance on foreign TNCs to exploit supply e.g. Nigeria, Sudan

What are the energy security issues in the Middle East?

Supply security due to the role of unstable areas in energy supply, link between nuclear powers and weapons

What are the energy security issues in South Asia?

Rapidly growing demand, use of highly polluting sources like high sulphur coal

How many oil-fired power stations in the UK?

10

What % of the global energy mix is fossil fuel dependent?

80%

UK 2016 energy mix

44% gas

22% nuclear

12% wind

1% hydro

4% solar

8% biomass

9% coal

How much more carbon do peatlands store than the world’s forests?

2x more

What % of land in the northern hemisphere is covered in permafrost?

24%

How much sooner than predicted is climate warming in the Arctic melting permafrost?

70 years earlier

What % of top energy TNCs are state-owned?

50%

How many members of OPEC?

13

How much of the world’s oil do the OPEC countries own?

67%

What % of the world’s coal supply does Europe use?

15% (but produces little)

Mismatches in oil supply and demand

North America has 20% of supply but demands 24%

Middle East supplies 31% but Asia demands 34% and China alone is 12% of that

Mismatches in gas supply and demand

North America has 18% of supply but demands 27%

Middle East has 15% of supply but only demands 10% - surplus

Asia has no gas stores but demands 16%

Coal pathway

From 6 main producers (Australia, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, Colombia, USA) to 4 main markets (EU, India, China, Japan-Taiwan-Korea)

Oil pathway

From producers in the Middle East to 4 major markets (EU, USA, East and South-East Asia)

Lesser producers are Nigeria and Venezuela

Gas pathway

From more producers (Middle East, Russia) to Europe

Lesser producers are Indonesia, Nigeria, Trinidad

Which countries get 100% of their gas from Russia?

Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

What % of Canada’s oil output is tar sands?

40%

What % of US gas supply is shale gas?

25%

How deep do deepwater oil rigs drill under the sea?

2000m

What % of Brazil’s vehicles are sold with fuel flex engines?

90%

USA energy consumption facts

2nd in world for energy consumption

Population of 310 million

¾ of energy from fossil fuels

Very self-sufficient - 8% energy imported

France energy consumption facts

10th in world for energy consumption

Population of 65 million

8.6% of energy from fossil fuels, 75% from nuclear

½ of its energy is imported - less secure

How much do onshore wind energy and fossil fuels cost per unit?

Wind - 5p/unit

Fossil fuels - 10p/unit

Where is the world’s 2nd largest producer of natural gas?

Russia

What % of Gazprom is owned by the Russian state?

51%

What % of EU gas was Russian before 2022?

25%

Since when, and why, have tensions been hard between Russia and Ukraine?

Since 2004

Pro-west president elected

Russia opposed Ukraine desiring to join NATO and the EU

What has Russia done to Ukraine?

Russia cut gas supply to Ukraine on New Year’s Day

The countries failed to agree on the price that should be paid for gas in 2009 by NYE 2008

They failed to agree on the price that Russia should pay for gas transit to Europe through Ukraine

There were also claims that Ukraine had stolen gas

Gas supplies were completely halted from 7 January 2015 as Russia accused Ukraine from siphoning gas meant for European customers

This left 12+ countries without expected supplies and this was especially difficult for Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia

European countries had to shut down industrial plants and domestic heating, find alternative gas sources and switch energy plants to oil

When did Russia invade the Crimean Peninsula?

2014

How much of Ukraine’s gas comes from Russia?

50%

What years has Russia turned off Ukraine’s gas?

2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2017

How much of Russia’s gas does Gazprom produce?

92%

Who is Gazprom?

Russian majority state-owned TNC

Originated in the USSR and then was semi-privatised following the collapse of the USSR

Came under gov. control in 2005

Profit of $16.3 billion in 2019

Produced 12% of world’s natural gas in 2018

Gazprom image

State-owned so this creates a negative image due to association with Russian gov. - not many countries will currently buy Gazprom gas

Protested by organisations like Greenpeace due to their oil drilling in the Arctic

Gazprom’s role is energy supply

Produced 12% of world’s natural gas in 2018 and about 1/3 of EU gas

Many ex-Soviet countries are especially reliant on Gazprom as their grids are interconnected with Russia

Involved in exploration, production, transportation, sale, storage and processing of gas and oil

Gazprom current news

Much of Moldova will stop taking Gazprom gas

Nordstream 1 has been shut off for repairs but this could be seen as a retaliation for European sanctions - it has recently been running at 20% normal capacity

Who is Shell?

Formed in 1907 by a merge of 2 companies from the Netherlands and UK

2nd largest investor owned oil and gas company in the world

Profits of £32.2 bn in 2022

Provide around 10% of UK gas and oil

Shell image

Accused of profiteering after record 2022 profits

Accusations of greenwashing

Responsible for 1.67% of global greenhouse gas emissions between 1988 and 2015

Long history of oil spills

Shell’s role in energy supply

10% of UK gas and oil - reliability

Involved in searching for and recovering gas and oil, LNG, manufacturing oil products, refinery, shipping of crude oil

Shell current news

Announced intention to withdraw from joint ventures with Gazprom in Russia

Reached an agreement to, with BP, explore 3 deepwater blocks for hydrocarbon production in Trinidad and Tobago

Plans to renew focus and investment in oil and gas part of the business - will invest $40 billion in oil and gas production between 2023 and 2035

How many jobs did wind energy provide in the UK in 2022?

31,000

How many tonnes of carbon did wind energy avoid in the US in 2022?

336 million tonnes

How much does demand for secondary energy increase by in winter?

500%

What price does OPEC aim to keep oil at?

Roughly $100 a barrel

How much did Ofgem increase the household energy price cap by in 2022?

54%

What is the increased risk of cancer in some First Nation groups living near tar sands sites?

30% more

What % of oil production does Aramco have?

10.5%

How many customers doe E.on have?

48 million

What % of biofuels are food crop derived?

99%

What % of UK petrol is ethanol?

8%

What is the net afforestation gain in China?

500,000 ha+

Change in pH of the oceans?

Up until 1800s, the pH was 8.2 but had fallen to 8.1 by 2015

Coral reefs stop growing when pH reaches 7.8

How much faster have temperatures risen in the Arctic risen than the global average?

2x

How many people does fishing support?

500 million

90% of whom live in developing countries

When does energy demand peak in the UK?

At 8am and 5-7pm

What % of Norway’s energy is renewable?

95% - through HEP which is baseload compliant

What is the warming goal of COP?

1.5 degrees C by 2100

COP26 agreements

Countries would meet in 2022 to pledge further emissions cuts

Reduce use of coal

Pledges for money for developing countries to cope with climate change and switch to clean energy

Phase out fossil fuel subsidies

Stop deforestation by 2030

Cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030

COP 27 Agreements

Loss and damage fund to help poorer countries recover from the impacts of climate change

Agreements on forests and nature-based solutions

Recognition of sustainable patterns of trading

More rules for carbon trading

Growing food demand

By 2030, only 1 in 7 are expected to be eating less than 2,500 calories a day - greater food supply in developing countries

In 2013, 24% of emissions came from agriculture and land use change

What % is fishing of the annual protein consumption for many SIDS?

16%

How many people are reliant on the coral atolls of the Maldives?

220,000

How many visitors do the reefs of the Maldives attract each year?

1 million

What is RCP 8.5?

Business as usual - 3.2 to 5.4

What is RCP 2.6?

Strong mitigation - 1.5 - everyone signed up to this in Paris

What is RCP 6?

Some mitigation

How much warming could methane hydrates cause?

10 degrees

How much money did Costa Rica invest in forest conservation?

$500 million

How has forest cover increased in Costa Rica in 1 generation?

21% cover to 50% cover