10 December 2023 7:50 am

Unlocking more sustainable futures with green chemistry

Dec 1, 2023

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Unlocking more sustainable futures with green chemistry is an article that was researched and written by Isabel Williams, a former Masters Student at Oxford University’s Department of Biology.
But achieving SDGs by generalising what is proposed remains to be seen.

24 Nov 2023

Using chemistry to help reach sustainability goals is becoming an increasingly attractive research area. From solving global plastic pollution to improving the performance of rechargeable batteries found in electric cars, ‘green chemistry’ is a truly promising topic.

This article was researched and written by Isabel Williams, a former Masters Student at Oxford University’s Department of Biology.

Tackling the plastic pollution problem

 

A heap of mixed plastic waste floating on the ocean.

Synthetic plastics do not break down easily, causing them to be a major pollutant in natural environments. Image credit: mbala mbala merlin/ Getty Images.

We are all too aware of the global plastic problem. Plastics are unsustainably produced, made, and disposed of, with the material found in the ocean, in landfills, on beaches, and even in the Antarctic. Researchers at the University of Oxford are applying innovative techniques to help tackle this problem.

But why is plastic such a problematic material? To find out why and to begin to tackle these problems, one needs to look at the material’s chemistry.

Plastics are made from synthetic ‘polymers’. Polymers are made from small molecular building blocks, called ‘monomers’, forming a large molecule resembling beads on a string. In plastics, these monomers are usually derived from non-renewable sources such as petrochemicals, making the production of plastic polymers highly unsustainable since they rely on fossil fuels. Additionally, due to the strong bonds between their monomers, synthetic polymers can persist and pollute the environment for hundreds of years before breaking down.

The solution: replacing plastics with ‘greener’ polymers

 

Dr Matilde Concilio (left) and Dr Gregory Sulley (right). Photo credit: Dr Gregory Sulley

Whilst efforts to reduce plastic usage and increase recycling can go a long way, it is unlikely that we can eliminate plastics entirely, particularly for uses that have food safety or human hygiene concerns. Many everyday items contain plastic polymers – including shopping bags, paint, electric car batteries, clothing, teabags, and takeaway coffee cups. But if we are not able to completely eliminate plastics, can they be replaced with a greener, more sustainable version?

Researchers at the University of Oxford’s Department of Chemistry are utilising a green chemistry approach to tackle plastic pollution. The aim? To phase out existing polymers and plastics and replace them with greener, more sustainable alternatives.

One avenue being explored is the production of polymers from renewable, bio-derived materials, rather than petrochemicals. Dr Matilde Concilio, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Professor Charlotte Williams’ laboratory, works on making bio-derived polymers from commercially available resources. By using chemicals already commercialised, safety-checked, and approved, the hope is that any products or processes developed in this way will be swiftly accepted and adopted by industry. With bio-derived plastics accounting for only 1.5% of global plastic production in 2021, there is enormous potential for these materials to upscale and ultimately replace their less-sustainable competitors.

I’m convinced that polymers are the future, but only if you do it in a sustainable way.

 

Dr Matilde Concilio, Department of Chemistry

Dr Concilio’s bio-derived polymers are not only made from renewable sources but are also more sustainable from a processing standpoint. Usually, monomers need to be purified many times to achieve a high-quality final product. This is both energetically costly and expensive.

‘So, to make it more sustainable, what I’m trying to do is use monomers that don’t need to be purified’ Dr Concilio explains. This way, less energy, time, and money are spent on the polymerisation process.

Key to the development and uptake of these new polymers is ensuring that their material properties are as good as, if not better than, current petrochemically-derived options. This is essential if these new materials are to be adopted at scale within plastics industries.

Ultimately, what we want to do is phase out [the current plastics], so that our plastics, which we’re quite heavily reliant on as a society, come from renewable sources.

 

Dr Gregory Sulley, Department of Chemistry

‘One of the main targets for us is to try and property-match to the incumbent materials,’ says Dr Gregory Sulley, another Postdoctoral Research Associate in Professor Charlotte Williams’ laboratory. ‘Ultimately, what we want to do is phase out [the current plastics], so that our plastics, which we are quite heavily reliant on as a society, come from renewable sources.’

With continued work and collaboration, hopefully, sustainable plastics will go on to replace their more unsustainable alternatives, making plastic pollution a problem of the past. With any luck, the sight of plastic in our landfills, oceans, and beaches will soon be a distant memory.

Tailor-made polymers for energy storage solutions:

Similar green chemistry approaches are being applied to solve problems in energy storage. For instance, rechargeable batteries require their components to be in contact with one another to function. However, this is complicated by the fact that some of the components change volume as the battery is charged and discharged. With these batteries used in electric cars, solar panels, and wind turbines, overcoming this problem is a huge priority to help reach Net Zero emission targets.

So, how do you solve this problem? Enter polymers.

 

Dr Georgina Gregory. Photo credit: Royal Society.

Dr Georgina Gregory, a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow, also works on bio-derived polymers. Dr Gregory was formerly a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Professor Charlotte Williams’ laboratory, like Dr Concilio and Dr Sulley, but now has progressed to lead a lab group of her own. What unites these three researchers, other than their shared history with the ‘Polymer Magician’ Professor Williams, is their ability to produce bespoke polymers designed for a specific application.

This application-driven design is integral to Dr Gregory’s work to improve the design of polymers so that they can overcome the current limitations of rechargeable batteries.

‘The polymer, in some respects, comes in as a way of holding it all together’ Dr Gregory explains. This means the polymer needs to be:

  1. Adhesive: to stick everything together in the battery;
  2. Slightly flexible: to accommodate the changes in volume;
  3. Ionically conductive: the polymer needs to allow ions (electrically charged atoms) to flow through the battery.

With these three properties in mind, the researchers set out to precisely design a polymer for use in batteries. By specifically selecting building blocks possessing these properties, and utilising their ability to tightly control the polymerisation process, they were able to tailor the product to the problem.

The story continues, read more of it on University of Oxford News & Events

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COP28 kicks off with climate disaster fund victory

Nov 30, 2023

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COP28 kicks off with climate disaster fund victory 

By ,  and 

 

Summary

  • COP28 adopts new fund to help poor nations with disasters
  • U.S., Japan, UAE among first to announce new contributions
  • Countries and oil companies urged to work together

DUBAI, Nov 30 (Reuters) – The U.N. climate summit clinched an early victory Thursday, with delegates adopting a new fund to help poor nations cope with costly climate disasters.

COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber said the decision sent a “positive signal of momentum to the world and to our work here in Dubai.”

In establishing the fund on the first day of the two-week COP28 conference, delegates opened the door for governments to announce contributions.

And several did, kicking off a series of small pledges that countries hoped would build to a substantial sum, including $100 million from the COP28 host United Arab Emirates, another $100 million from Germany, at least $51 million from Britain, $17.5 million from the United States, and $10 million from Japan.

The early breakthrough on the damage fund, which poorer nations had demanded for years, could help grease the wheels for other compromises to be made during the two-week summit.

But some groups were cautious, noting there were still unresolved issues including how the fund would be financed in the future.

“The absence of a defined replenishment cycle raises serious questions about the fund’s long-term sustainability,” said Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International. “The responsibility now lies with affluent nations to meet their financial obligations in a manner proportionate to their role in the climate crisis.”

Adnan Amin, CEO of the COP28 summit, told Reuters this month the aim was to secure several hundred million U.S. dollars for the climate disaster fund during the event.

Pope Francis, who was forced to cancel his trip to COP28 due to illness, sent a message on social media platform X: “May participants in #COP28 be strategists who focus on the common good and the future of their children, rather than the vested interests of certain countries or businesses. May they demonstrate the nobility of politics and not its shame.”

A ROLE FOR FOSSIL FUELS

Earlier on Thursday, Jaber opened the summit by urging countries and fossil fuel companies to work together to meet global climate goals.

Governments are preparing for marathon negotiations on whether to agree, for the first time, to phase out the world’s use of CO2-emitting coal, oil and gas, the main source of warming emissions.

Jaber, who is also the CEO of the United Arab Emirates’ national oil company ADNOC, aimed to strike a conciliatory tone following months of criticism over his appointment at the head of COP28.

He acknowledged that there were “strong views” about the idea of including language on fossil fuels and renewables in the negotiated text.

“It is essential that no issue is left off the table. And yes, as I have been saying, we must look for ways and ensure the inclusion of the role of fossil fuels,” he said.

He touted his country’s decision to “proactively engage” with fossil fuel companies, and noted that many national oil companies had adopted net-zero targets for 2050.

“I am grateful that they have stepped up to join this game-changing journey,” Jaber said. “But, I must say, it is not enough, and I know that they can do much more.”

Another major task at the summit will be for countries to assess their progress in meeting global climate goals – chiefly the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

This process, known as the global stocktake, should yield a high-level plan telling countries what they need to do.

Reporting by Kate Abnett, Valerie Volcovici and Maha El Dahan; Additional reporting by William James and Alvise Armellini; Writing by Katy Daigle; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Miral Fahmy and Christina Fincher

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Countdown to COP28: ACT in the Middle East and North Africa

Nov 29, 2023

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ACT Alliance is a Global alliance of more than 145 churches and related organisations and in its Countdown to COP28: ACT in the Middle East and North Africa reiterates what is felt more and more throughout the region.  
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The above image is for illustration and is credit to Dubai92.com
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Rachel Luce, ACT Regional Representative, MENA.

George Majaj, ACT Humanitarian Programme Advisor, MENA. PHOTO: Simon Chambers.

As the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region prepares to host COP28, we reproduce here our 2022 Annual Report interview with Rachel Luce, ACT Alliance Regional Representative for the MENA region and George Majaj, ACT’s MENA Humanitarian Programme Advisor. The interview will give you some insight into MENA issues and how ACT and its members address these issues during peacetime.

What are some of the key issues facing the region? 

Rachel: There are several protracted crises in the region. Linked to that is mass migration. Educated people are leaving, as is the Christian minority. The Christian migration is really on the hearts and minds of our local members, as this is where the historic churches are located. We also see big changes in the social fabric, and you lose the value of diversity. Migration is a big concern for all the members, along with the conflicts and ongoing wars. 

George: Most of the crises are becoming protracted. There are fewer political ways to end these issues – for example in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Palestine. There’s a lack of interest from funders and media. The political will at home and abroad is not there to solve the protracted crises in most of the countries in MENA, and that has a negative effect on communities. 

How do members in the region work together?  

In the Middle East, national forums meet monthly to discuss what they’re working on, joint areas of action such as training, what they’re hearing from other platforms they’re involved in, and how they might coordinate advocacy. The forums consist of country directors or their deputies. Iraq and Jerusalem have extended their forums so that faith-based agencies can join. 

The MENA Communities of Practice (CoPs), such as Gender Justice and Climate Justice, are connected to the forums. Each national forum sends at least one delegate to a MENA CoP. These are usually the thematic experts. MENA CoPs meet monthly and discuss aspects of the work they want to do together. They go to in-person events, such as trainings, and then report back to their Forum.  

What are the opportunities you see in the region? 

The MENA Gender Justice CoP wants to influence change in Christian family law in the Middle East. For Christians, family law is governed by their church, and it covers inheritances, marriage, divorce, custody, and similar issues. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) changed their church’s family law a few years ago. The MENA Gender Justice CoP wants to see similar change across the region. They started with a study on Jordan’s church family laws. After hearing the consultant’s questions, the churches they interviewed decided to look into changing their laws. No one knew their own laws until they went to court to find out.  

One of the MENA Gender Justice CoP’s goals is to ensure family inheritances are divided equally between men and women and that women aren’t pressured into signing away their inheritance rights. They also want family laws to be transparent and accessible. Changing these laws makes real, true change in the lives of people.  

MENA’s Climate Justice CoP is growing every year. Season of Creation is on fire in the Middle East right now, which is amazing.  ACT MENA members also invested a lot in Egypt’s COP27. Now they’re talking about how to engage after Dubai’s COP28 in 2023. They’re showing a commitment to global negotiations in the long term.  

In MENA, we started by training members in country-specific multi-stakeholder dialogues where specialists reviewed adaptation, climate financing and mitigation. Once they understood climate justice at a country level, members engaged regionally because they could see the intersections. Now they’re making the link to the global level. They see how the fight at one UN COP can lead to additional financing and how they can push for climate ambition.  

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The oil and gas sector must reduce their planet-warming operations

Nov 24, 2023

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In the recently published IEA article on a special report, it is put simply that to save the climate, the oil and gas sector must reduce their planet-warming operations. 

 

 

 

 

Oil and gas producers face pivotal choices about their role in the global energy system amid a worsening climate crisis fuelled in large part by their core products, according to a major new special report from the IEA that shows how the industry can take a more responsible approach and contribute positively to the new energy economy.

The Oil and Gas Industry in Net Zero Transitions analyses the implications and opportunities for the industry that would arise from stronger international efforts to reach energy and climate targets. Released ahead of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, the special report sets out what the global oil and gas sector would need to do to align its operations with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Even under today’s policy settings, global demand for both oil and gas is set to peak by 2030, according to the latest IEA projections. Stronger action to tackle climate change would mean clear declines in demand for both fuels. If governments deliver in full on their national energy and climate pledges, demand would fall 45% below today’s level by 2050. In a pathway to reaching net zero emissions by mid-century, which is necessary to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C within reach, oil and gas use would decline by more than 75% by 2050.

Yet the oil and gas sector – which provides more than half of global energy supply and employs nearly 12 million workers worldwide – has been a marginal force at best in transitioning to a clean energy system, according to the report. Oil and gas companies currently account for just 1% of clean energy investment globally – and 60% of that comes from just four companies.

“The oil and gas industry is facing a moment of truth at COP28 in Dubai. With the world suffering the impacts of a worsening climate crisis, continuing with business as usual is neither socially nor environmentally responsible,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Oil and gas producers around the world need to make profound decisions about their future place in the global energy sector. The industry needs to commit to genuinely helping the world meet its energy needs and climate goals – which means letting go of the illusion that implausibly large amounts of carbon capture are the solution. This special report shows a fair and feasible way forward in which oil and gas companies take a real stake in the clean energy economy while helping the world avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.”

The global oil and gas industry encompasses a large and diverse range of players – from small, specialised operators to huge national oil companies. Attention often focuses on the role of the private sector majors, but they own less than 13% of global oil and gas production and reserves.

Every company’s transition strategy can and should include a plan to reduce emissions from its own operations, according to the report. The production, transport and processing of oil and gas results in nearly 15% of global energy-related greenhouse emissions – equal to all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions from the United States. As things stand, companies with targets to reduce their own emissions account for less than half of global oil and gas output.

To align with a 1.5 °C scenario, the industry’s own emissions need to decline by 60% by 2030. The emissions intensity of oil and gas producers with the highest emissions is currently five-to-ten times above those with the lowest, showing the vast potential for improvements. Furthermore, strategies to reduce emissions from methane – which accounts for half of the total emissions from oil and gas operations – are well-known and can typically be pursued at low cost.

While oil and gas production is vastly lower in transitions to net zero emissions, it will not disappear – even in a 1.5 °C scenario. Some investment in oil and gas supply is needed to ensure the security of energy supply and provide fuel for sectors in which emissions are harder to abate, according to the report. Yet not every oil and gas company will be able to maintain output – requiring consumers to send clear signals on their direction and speed of travel so that producers can make informed decisions on future spending.

The USD 800 billion currently invested in the oil and gas sector each year is double what is required in 2030 on a pathway that limits warming to 1.5 °C. In that scenario, declines in demand are sufficiently steep that no new long-lead-time conventional oil and gas projects are needed. Some existing oil and gas production would even need to be shut in.

In transitions to net zero, oil and gas is set to become a less profitable and riskier business over time. The report’s analysis finds that the current valuation of private oil and gas companies could fall by 25% from USD 6 trillion today if all national energy and climate goals are reached, and by up to 60% if the world gets on track to limit global warming to 1.5 °C.

Opportunities lie ahead despite these challenges. The report finds that the oil and gas sector is well placed to scale up some crucial technologies for clean energy transitions. In fact, some 30% of the energy consumed in 2050 in a decarbonised energy system comes from technologies that could benefit from the industry’s skills and resources – including hydrogen, carbon capture, offshore wind and liquid biofuels.

However, this would require a step-change in how the sector allocates its financial resources. The oil and gas industry invested around USD 20 billion in clean energy in 2022, or roughly 2.5% of its total capital spending. The report finds that producers looking to align with the aims of the Paris Agreement would need to put 50% of their capital expenditures towards clean energy projects by 2030, on top of the investment required to reduce emissions from their own operations.

The report also notes that carbon capture, currently the linchpin of many firms’ transition strategies, cannot be used to maintain the status quo. If oil and natural gas consumption were to evolve as projected under today’s policy settings, limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 °C would require an entirely inconceivable 32 billion tonnes of carbon captured for utilisation or storage by 2050, including 23 billion tonnes via direct air capture. The amount of electricity needed to power these technologies would be greater than the entire world’s electricity demand today.

“The fossil fuel sector must make tough decisions now, and their choices will have consequences for decades to come,” Dr Birol said. “Clean energy progress will continue with or without oil and gas producers. However, the journey to net zero emissions will be more costly, and harder to navigate, if the sector is not on board.”

 

What is urban mining – and why do we need to do more of it?

Nov 23, 2023

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What is urban mining – and why do we need to do more of it? And why do we need to do more of it? is reviewed in this article.

 

The image above is (Credit: Unsplash)

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.

Author: Charlotte Edmond, Senior Writer, Forum Agenda

 

  • The vast majority of us own a smartphone – and inside each one are metals and minerals that could help the environment.
  • This is an example of urban mining -.the practice of extracting materials from waste – which is a key part of the circular economy.
  • Other materials that could be saved from landfill and incineration include waste from demolition and construction.

 

The number of smartphones in use hit 6.6 billion in 2022. That means the vast majority of the world now owns one. And inside each of those phones is a pinch of multiple different metals and minerals, some of which are rarer and harder and more damaging to extract than others.

But each of these phones also has a limited life – how many people have an old device sitting unused in a drawer somewhere? One piece of research estimates that there are around 7 million unused phones in Switzerland alone, with $10 million worth of embedded gold in them.

It is exactly issues like these that make it so important we get an urban mining system up and running in a sustainable and cost-effective way.

 

What is urban mining?

Urban mining is the idea of extracting valuable materials from waste, much of which would otherwise go to landfill or incineration. This can include common metals and plastics as well as rarer but valuable elements.

Urban mining allows us to salvage materials of which there is a finite supply, and limits the environmental impact of their disposal. Crucially, it also avoids extraction of additional materials, which damages ecosystems and can cause pollution, among other things.

It forms a key part of the circular economy, which promotes a more sustainable use of resources by keeping them in use for as long as possible.

Discover

What is the World Economic Forum doing about the circular economy?

The World Economic Forum’s Platform for Shaping the Future of Consumption is seeking to promote responsible consumption models, which are equitable, enable societal well-being and protect the planet. A key part of the initiative is focused on innovative reuse models.

The waste we can recycle

Electronic waste (e-waste) like phones is a prime candidate for urban mining, where products cannot otherwise be repaired.

There are a growing number of companies which offer to buy back and resell unwanted devices, as well as a wave of repair cafes emerging. But these devices are still not routinely considered an economically viable secondary source of materials like gold, silver, copper, lithium, or cobalt.

Once you factor in the environmental costs of extracting these materials, however, the scales tip in favour of urban mining, research suggests. Many of the participants in the Swiss phone study mentioned above said they would be willing to sell their old phone for less than $5. The market value of the metals within them is under $2, but when you factor in the external costs of extraction the cost of the materials is around $18.

Another strong use case is for waste materials from demolition or construction. Around 850 million tons of construction and demolition waste were created by Europe alone in 2020 – more than a third of all waste generated in the region.

Steel, copper and aluminium are commonly found in demolition waste. And there are also ways which cement – a notoriously polluting material in its production – can be reused and recycled. Some processes even manage to capture and store carbon in the new product. Aggregates and bitumen from worn-out roads can also be recycled into new ones.

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