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Recently, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said in the official blog "Gates Notes" that "the clean energy revolution has arrived." "In the face of greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing, electricity, agriculture, transport and construction, a range of climate technologies have been proven and ready to be brought to market. In less than a decade, investment has helped transform a utopian dream into a series of transformative solutions. Now is the time to invest so that these solutions can scale, deploy in all areas of the economy, and reduce emissions.
Bill Gates pointed out that agriculture contributes 20% of global carbon emissions, and the crops we grow and eat have a huge impact on the climate. But Pivot Bio is reducing that effect with microbial products that allow crops to draw nitrogen from the air, giving farmers what they've been longing for: a more reliable and efficient form of fertilizer. Generating less than 1% of emissions and requiring 1,000 times less water than synthetic fertilizers, their solutions are currently being used on 5 million acres of land, helping farmers increase productivity while eliminating emissions.
Bill Gates once pointed out the shocking fact that there is more carbon dioxide in the soil than in the atmosphere and in all plants combined. In its natural state, it's not a big deal. But when the soil is disturbed (e.g. by turning a forest into farmland), all the carbon dioxide stored in the soil is released into the atmosphere.
Microorganisms in the soil also produce greenhouse gases when they come into contact with fertilizers. Fertilizers have revolutionized the way the world supplies food, but when broken down by microorganisms, fertilizers release a powerful greenhouse gas called nitrous oxide. Natural fertilizers like manure are no better, as they also release greenhouse gases when they decompose. Pivot Bio uses genetically modified microorganisms to provide plants with the nitrogen they need without producing as much greenhouse gases as fertilizers do.
Looking back at the carbon emissions market:
-- Carbon emissions
Carbon on Earth has been participating in the carbon cycle, which refers to the phenomenon that carbon elements are exchanged in the Earth's biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, and cycle with the Earth's movement. It consists of two stages: carbon sequestration and carbon release, the former is the process of absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, called carbon sinks; The latter is the process of releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, known as a carbon source.
In this process, the impact of human activities is crucial, burning fossil energy will increase the release of CO2 into the atmosphere, and deforestation and other actions will weaken the carbon sink process, thus causing the balance to be disrupted, resulting in excessive CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and higher temperatures. According to the statistics of the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2020, global carbon emissions mainly came from three sectors: energy generation and heating, transportation, manufacturing and construction, accounting for 43%, 26% and 17% respectively.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, global carbon emissions have grown rapidly, and from 2000 to 2019, global carbon dioxide emissions increased by 40%. According to the statistics of the World Energy Statistical Yearbook (70th Edition) released by British Petroleum (BP), global carbon emissions have maintained continuous growth since 2013, and in 2019, global carbon emissions reached 34.36 billion tons, a record high.
In 2020, due to the impact of the global new crown pneumonia, carbon emissions in all regions of the world generally decreased, and global carbon emissions fell to 32.28 billion tons, a year-on-year decrease of 6.3%.
- China's carbon emissions
The purpose and significance of both carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are to limit carbon emissions. Scientific studies have shown that excessive carbon emissions contribute to global warming, the greenhouse effect, and extreme weather. Among them, the greenhouse effect is the most direct and serious problem. In 2020, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere exceeded 400 ppm, and the global average surface temperature increased by about 1.25°C from the 19th-century baseline, and 0.6°C above the reference period from 1981 to 2010, approaching the hottest record for 2016. Therefore, controlling carbon emissions has long-term and important development significance.
The mainland's carbon emissions have grown slowly from 78.58 million tons at the beginning of the People's Republic of China to 1.46 billion tons at the beginning of the reform and opening up. However, since the reform and opening up, with the rapid development of the mainland's industry and economy, the mainland's carbon emissions have also entered a stage of rapid growth, from 1980 to 2010, the mainland's carbon emissions rose from 1.461 billion tons to 8.122 billion tons, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.88%.
From 2011 to 2022, China's carbon emissions showed a fluctuating growth trend, with a compound annual growth rate of 1.67%. Among them, the mainland's carbon emissions account for more than 27.5% of the world's total, making it the world's largest carbon emitter. In 2022, China's carbon emissions were 10.550 billion tons, accounting for 30.7% of global carbon emissions.
From the perspective of the sources of China's carbon emissions, according to the statistics of the global real-time carbon database Carbon Monitor, the sources of carbon emissions are divided into several sectors: industry, electricity, transportation (including ground transportation and domestic aviation) and residential consumption. Among them, the carbon emissions in the industrial and power sectors account for a relatively high proportion, which is an important source of carbon emissions, and is also an important area for carbon peak and carbon neutrality control, as well as industrial transformation and development.
According to the data of 2022, the carbon dioxide output of the industrial and power sectors was 4.2 billion tons and 5.14 billion tons, respectively, accounting for more than 84% of China's carbon emission production that year, 37.95% and 46.45%, respectively. The carbon emissions of transportation and residential consumption account for a relatively small amount; From January to July 2023, the industrial and power sectors accounted for 84% of total CO2 production.
The State Council issued the "2024-2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan", which proposes that in 2024, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will be reduced by about 2.5% and 3.9% respectively, the energy consumption of industrial units above designated size will be reduced by about 3.5%, the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption will reach about 18.9%, and the energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformation of key areas and industries will save about 50 million tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 130 million tons.
Pan Jiahua, a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and deputy director of the National Climate Change Expert Committee, said that the transition from fossil fuels requires the establishment of a complete set of zero-carbon industrial systems from production to consumption. The industrial system of zero-carbon energy cannot be concentrated in large cities, but is relatively scattered, especially the establishment and installation of zero-carbon energy, which can only be in rural areas and localities, so the benefits and increased employment are also in the locality, which is where the opportunity for local transformation and development lies.
Prospective Economist APP Information Group
For more research and analysis of this industry, please refer to the "Analysis Report on China's Carbon Neutrality Industry Market Prospect and Investment Strategic Planning" by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.
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