https://archive.md/wm2uM
"Jargon often gets in the way of clearly understanding the climate challenge.
While some technical terms such as “net zero” are useful and continue to gain
wider acceptance, others aren’t so helpful. Take the phrase “hard to abate.”
The simplest definition of “hard to abate” is that an industry finds it
difficult to lower its greenhouse gas emissions. The industries that the term
is typically used for are steel, cement, chemicals, shipping, aviation and
sometimes long-distance trucking.
Yet “difficult” can be interpreted in different ways. It could mean these
industrial sectors don’t have the technology to cut emissions. Or it could mean
the technologies are so expensive that it will render their product
unprofitable. Or it could mean, given the lack of regulations, these sectors
find it hard to justify the effort needed to reduce emissions.
The many meanings of “hard to abate” is why experts say there is a good
argument to stop using it. “Industry has adopted the phrase as a way of not
wanting to take action,” says Claire Curry, head of technology, industry and
innovation at BloombergNEF.
So far, most progress on reducing emissions has come from building out
renewables and moving to electric vehicles, which covers electricity and
transport sectors. That’s a fair place to start, given a key way to tackle the
climate problem is to electrify as much as possible and produce electricity
without the carbon impact. And electrifying industrial processes or shipping
and aviation is a bigger challenge than electrifying road transport.
But if “hard to abate” means those sectors don’t have the technologies to
reduce emissions, that’s a tough one to back up. Emissions from steel, cement
and chemicals can be cut using carbon capture technology, which can work well
at scale. That’s before even looking at other technologies, such as using only
renewable electricity to make steel from iron ore (through electrolysis), or
replacing limestone with carbon-free raw materials to make cement, or deploying
green hydrogen to making chemicals."
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Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
