Author: Sunandhini R

Carbon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth. The rise of carbon emissions, especially in the form of carbon dioxide, has been significant. It has also become an environmental concern with respect to climate change. Emissions have increased the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere due to human activities since the industrial period. Let’s try to understand the carbon cycle, emissions, and how they are captured and stored across countries.

The Carbon Cycle

It is a natural process that regulates the flow of carbon among land, soil, atoms, the ocean, and living organisms. It has been happening for thousands of years between the above reservoirs. This helps maintain the equilibrium state on Earth.

Atmosphere: in the form of CO2

Land: living and dead biomass like plants, animals, and soils

Oceans: CO2 dissolved in the ocean, stored under coral reefs, and more.

Rocks: Fossil fuels (decomposed organic matter)

The carbon cycle can be divided into two main components.

Fast carbon cycle: The plants absorb CO2 for the process called photosynthesis. It is converted into glucose and oxygen. This is utilized by organisms like us that require oxygen for survival. This is the rapid conversion of carbon to oxygen in the atmosphere.

Slow carbon cycle. This is a long-term process of storing carbon in rocks, fossil fuels, and deep oceans. It takes millions of years to happen.

Increase in CO2 concentration

Burning fossil fuels, deforestation, industries, aviation, agriculture, and many human activities have disrupted the carbon cycle. Before the industrial age, atmospheric CO2 levels were around 280 parts per million. The levels have been rising and reached around 420 ppm (0.042%).

With the levels of CO2 rising, actions need to be taken to remove the excess CO2 from the atmosphere. Otherwise, it might affect the global temperature, ocean acidity, and changes in weather patterns around the world.

Major source of emissions

Energy Production: Most of the power plants use fossil fuels (including coal, oil, and natural gas). It makes up the largest source of CO2 emissions.

Transportation: Automobiles, airplanes, ships, and trains that run on fossil fuels also contribute to emissions.

Industrial Process: Manufacturing processes such as steel, cement, and certain chemicals release an amount of CO2.

To read more.

Carbon Capture Technologies

There are a lot of technological approaches that have been developed to capture CO2 emissions before they are released into the air. Certain approaches remove CO2 directly from the air. They are called Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) or Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). It aims to capture and store it in a way that prevents it from escaping into the atmosphere. It is done in two ways.

Point source capture

Here, the CO2 emissions are directly captured from large point sources like power plants and industries. There are three major ways.

Pre combustion capture: CO2 is removed from the fuel before combustion.

Post combustion capture: CO2 is removed from the gases after combustion.

Oxyfuel combustion: Fuel is burned in pure oxygen to produce a CO2 stream.

Then it is compressed and transported through a pipeline for storage. It is usually injected underground between the rocks for permanent storage. SaskPower’s Boundary Dam project can capture around 1 million tons of CO2 per year from the coal power plant. Carbon Clean Solutions has developed carbon capture solvents (amine-promoted buffer salts) that reduce costs and increase the efficiency of CO2 capture.

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

Another technique that is gaining traction these days is direct air capture. It removes CO2 directly from the air around us. It focuses on the emissions from transportation and others.

A leading Swiss company called Climeworks uses filter material to capture CO2 from the air. The machines work on geothermal energy, which is abundant in Iceland. It has two facilities called Orca and Mammoth. The captured CO2 is then stored underground. Global Thermostat is developing direct air capture to produce carbon-negative hydrogen fuel as well as capture it for storage and utilization.

Carbon Storage Technologies

Once the carbon is captured from the point or direct air, the CO2 must be transported and stored permanently. The most widespread storage approach is injecting it into the deep underground. It is sent into the depleted oil and gas reserves, where it can be stored for years.

Carbfix, a Swiss based company that works in conjunction with Climeworks, injects into the underground. Then the CO2 is mixed with water and reacts with basalt to form the stable carbonate minerals. It has been said that nearly 90% of the injected CO2 is mineralized within 2 years.

Other CCS Technologies

Enhanced Weathering

It involves spreading the minerals that react with CO2 over a larger surface. These minerals capture CO2 and convert it into stable forms. Heirloom does the same by grinding the minerals into a fine powder and spreading them over a large surface. It reacts and forms stable carbonates.

Bioenergy with CCS

Using biomass like wood pellets or residues from agriculture to produce biogas.

Biochar

Burning the biomass with limited oxygen to produce biochar, which can be used to store carbon.

Challenges

However, scaling up these CCS will require high costs, land, technologies, and policies, not relying on fossil fuels to run the machines. It has significant challenges to overcome and a meaningful impact on CO2 levels.

Energy Requirements

Each of these techniques and approaches has the potential. One of the important challenges is the energy required to operate them. DAC is energy intensive, as it involves large volumes of filters to absorb the CO2. In case of Climeworks, Carbfix, Iceland has lot of geothermal, so the emissions from it are very less. It would be a difficult for countries based on fossil as power source. If they are used, then the benefits of Co2 capture will be negated by the emission from the energy production. In that case, solar energy can be used. It is sustainable, abundant and cost effective making it as an attractive option. However, weather conditions, land use and initial investments are the challenges that needs to be addressed.

Scaling up and Regulation

The cost of building and scaling up carbon capture infrastructure is rising, involving financial investment, infrastructure development, and regulatory frameworks. Effective policies and incentives are crucial to drive investment in these technologies. International cooperation and agreements are necessary to standardize and regulate carbon capture practices.

The technologies are evolving to capture and store the carbon but the hurdles remain to scaling up and implementing them across. Often, this requires a multifaceted approach. While reducing emissions through cleaner energy sources and improved efficiencies is critical. This is don’t mean to keep using fossil fuel and involving increase the carbon footprint, but as a necessary complement to reduce emissions. However, challenges related to energy requirements, economic viability, and scalability need to be addressed through innovation, investment, and supportive policies.

Cheers!

PS: Some make Ink out of Carbon emissions.

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While studying the Gender and Environment course (UNITAR and UNCC learn), I learned that drought can lead to child marriage. This made me curious. How does drought cause child marriage? Are there studies on this? How did they find the link? Maybe it happens rarely, or it is just a case study. But when I looked it up, I found research articles on it. I decided to explore these. I didn’t want to focus only on drought because some articles also mentioned floods. So, I titled this an environmental crisis.

Droughts and floods have significantly impacted societies, especially in developing countries. One is that it is less talked about. The consequent rise in child marriage rates. Let’s try to explore how these crises force young girls into early marriages.

Child Marriage

Child marriage is defined as a formal marriage or informal union in which at least one of the parties is under 18 years. In most of the cases, girls are married at an early age. 21% of girls in the world population are married before their 18th birthday. The percentages are highest in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, at 35% and 30%, respectively. Almost 12 million girls are married under 18 every year. The child marriage can be due to many factors. Social pressure, norms, culture, household economics, harassments, pregnancy or other reasons. Some articles too suggest that the environmental crisis too have a impact on them.

Connection Between Drought/Flood and Child Marriage

In many farming communities, droughts or any environmental crisis can ruin crops. The well or the water sources might dry up. Even the livestock are being harmed. This causes the families to lose their income and ability to feed themselves. This pushes them into poverty. Hence, they marry off their daughter to repay the debt or to reduce family expenses.

Data & Methodology

The Sub Saharan Africa, South Asia and South East Asia were mostly covered for the studies. Majority of the articles focus more on the Qualitative data than the Quantitative data. For Quantitative, the data are collected from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Drought occurrence, Happening of child marriages and the correlation were found. Some findings did find a association to extreme heats. But most of the study focused on droughts and floods. For Qualitative, the data were collected from the interviews, surveys and focus group discussions.

STUDY TYPE	Academic	11 (46%)a
	Grey	13 (54%)
METHODOLOGY	Quantitative	8 (33%)
	Qualitative	16 (67%)
LOCATION(S) STUDIED	South Asia	11 (46%)
	South East Asia	2 (8%)
	Sub-Saharan Africa	13 (54%)
	Rest of World	0 (0%)
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS TYPE	Cyclone	2 (8%)
	Flood	8 (33%)
	Drought	12 (50%)
	River Erosion	1 (4%)
	Earthquake/Tsunami	1 (4%)
	Extreme Heat	1 (4%)

The Impact & The Findings

Environmental crises such as droughts and floods have a devastating impact on developing countries. When these occur, it affects the basic needs of the families. In those situations, child marriages serve as a coping mechanism. This helps them reduce their economic burden and also protects them from sexual exploitation and violence. Study findings say that daughters were married earlier in Bangladesh after cyclones. In Bangladesh, for example, girls aged 11-14 were 50% more likely to marry during a heatwave that lasted over 30 days. Girls aged 15-17 were 30% more likely to marry in those conditions. They just see this as a way to reduce their dependents, and it gives them temporary relief.

Another study found that droughts lead to more child marriages as families. As they cope with income loss from failed crops​.

In Somalia, climate disasters have displaced millions of people, leading to an increase in child marriage in refugee camps. Young girls are often married off to older men in exchange for food and other basic necessities.

Environmental disasters create a ripple effect that goes beyond immediate needs. Schools often close due to damage or displacement, disrupting girls education. Some think that marrying off protects them from violence. But there are possibilities for the girls to face the risk while traveling to fetch water and woods for the family. Education is denied to the them, making them more unaware of the environmental disasters. They are exposed to exploitation and trafficking and more.

Additionally, based on sample from 180 countries, a study concluded that climate change makes communities more vulnerable, especially financially. This lower income strengthens the main reasons why child marriage happens. One is the unequal treatment of girls and boys (gender discrimination) and second one is extreme poverty.

Conversely, the marriage instead of protecting them, perpetuates the cycle of poverty for those girls, their offspring, and their communities. Losing educational opportunities makes the problem worse since education helps delay marriage and empower girls​.

Wicked Problem

Climate change, environmental disasters are often considered wicked problem. Wicked problems are something difficult to define and solve because of its interconnected nature. It can’t be a one step solution or end card to that problem. Solving these kind of problems requires coordinated efforts across multiple sectors. It is associated with various factors like social norms, gender discrimination, lack of educational opportunities, poverty, weak law enforcement, and long-held cultural practices. It requires long-term coordination across policy, grassroots level, legal reforms, social protections and building climate resilience together.

Comprehensive approach

Awareness Campaigns: Educating the girls on importance of studies and the benefits of delayed marriages. Ensuring them girls can continue their education, even during crises.

Legal Frameworks: Strengthening laws to prevent child marriage. Most of the countries have a limit of 18. Effective communication to the people about the legal age for marriage.

Community Engagement: Raising awareness among the people about the negative impacts of child marriage. Also promoting gender equality can change social norms.

Economic Support: Providing financial help and livelihood support to families and farmers affected by drought can reduce the economic pressure to marry off daughters early.

The relationship between environmental crises and child marriage highlights the complexity of this issue. Child marriage, especially in the context of environmental crises, is a wicked problem. No single solution will work. It needs awareness, strict policy enforcement, and particularly in developing countries that often lack the necessary measures to protect vulnerable children. The futures of untold girls around the world depend on the world community.

Cheers!

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REference

• Amin, S., Asadullah, M. N., Hossain, S., & Wahhaj, Z. (2017). Eradicating child marriage in the commonwealth: is investment in girls’ education sufficient?. The Round Table, 106(2), 221-223.
• Doherty, F. C., Rao, S., & Radney, A. R. (2023). Association between child, early, and forced marriage and extreme weather events: A mixed-methods systematic review. International Social Work, 00208728231186006.
• Ohio State University. (2023, August 29). Extreme weather events linked to increased child marriage. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 10, 2024 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230829124821.htm
• Girls Not Brides. (2022). Drought, Drop Out and Early Marriage: Feeling the Effects of Climate Change in East Africa.
• Pope, D. H., McMullen, H., Baschieri, A., Philipose, A., Udeh, C., Diallo, J., & McCoy, D. (2023). What is the current evidence for the relationship between the climate and environmental crises and child marriage? A scoping review. Global public health, 18(1), 2095655.
• Pasten, R., Figueroa, E., Muñoz, D., & Colther, C. (2020). Not a dream wedding: The hidden nexus between climate change and child marriage (No. wp508).
• UNICEF. (2022). Child marriage on the rise in Horn of Africa as drought crisis intensifies