Rise to the challenge
With the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November, the UK has the opportunity to lead the world’s efforts to meet net zero, says Gareth Johnson
Young male and female surveying engineers in safety wear walking through solar farm.
The UK has some of the most ambitious climate-change targets in the world, and aims to become carbon neutral by 2050. While the targets will require an almighty effort to achieve, Gareth Johnson, a Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde, UK, is optimistic that we will meet them.
“The public consciousness of climate change and net zero has increased considerably over the last decades and the UK Parliament has now put into law our net-zero targets. This is huge. We know the destination, and we know when we have to get there, so now we just have to work out how to do it – and there’s a lot of work underway across many sectors to figure that out.”
The role for geoscientists is clear – we won’t meet our net-zero targets without the materials, skills and experience the geoscience sector brings to the challenge.
“It’s actually hard for me to think about a technological development to meet our net-zero targets that doesn’t require geoscientists in some way. From geoscience educators making sure the next generation have the required skills, to geoscientists working on foundations for windfarms or energy storage schemes, the extraction of critical metals (such as for lithium-ion batteries or solar cells), or the energy provision or greenhouse-gas abatement sectors.
“There’s no shortage of demand for geoscientists. I’m convinced the future will be full of opportunities for geoscientists to make their mark and
help get us to net zero.”
Scaling up
Gareth suggests it is the scale of the targets that present the greatest challenge, and this translates to everything from the size of the required workforce with the necessary skills, to the amount of resources and energy needed to enact the essential changes.
“To give a sense of the scale of just one component of the challenge, it is estimated that by 2050 we will need to inject somewhere in the range of 5 to 10 Gt of CO2 into geological reservoirs every year. Globally we currently inject about 40 Mt (of which more than 75% is for enhanced oil recovery), so we’ll need to increase injection by two orders of magnitude in less than 30 years. But what does that look like? According to the International Energy Agency, oil production globally is currently about 4.5 Gt per year. So, by 2050 we need a carbon capture and storage industry that is, at a minimum, the size of the current oil industry, which took more than a century to develop to its present scale.”
New from old
Mine water offers one promising avenue as a geothermal energy source, and Gareth and his colleagues are embarking on a new project that would repurpose our old energy infrastructure for the new.
“We’re looking at the feasibility of using water stored within a number of old coal mines to provide heat for an industrial process that makes low-carbon plastics. It’s a nice story whereby the old carbon-extraction infrastructure and knowledge (we’ll be using the old coal-mine plans to develop our model) will be used to power a low-carbon future.”
Gareth Johnson
Dr Gareth Johnson is a Research Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde, UK. g.johnson@strath.ac.uk @geogareth
The full interview with Gareth Johnson appears below
What are you currently working on?
A few things! My research background is in carbon capture and storage (CCS), as well as geothermal energy, and I’m still actively researching both of these topics. Currently, I’m working on understanding CO2-trapping mechanisms and how we monitor CO2 in the subsurface. This requires some lab work, as well as analysis of natural analogues and engineered CCS sites. I’m also looking at naturally occurring hydrogen and how that might inform hydrogen-storage projects, and I’m just about to start a project on the use of mine water for geothermal energy in Scotland. In addition, I’m preparing for teaching next semester, as well as carrying out some advisory work and external engagement during our ‘quiet’ summer period at the university and in the run up to COP26 later this year.
How important are geoscientists to achieving net zero?
They’re vital! It’s actually hard for me to think about a technological development to meet our net-zero targets that doesn’t require geoscientists in some way. From geoscience educators making sure the next generation have the skills needed, to geoscientists working on foundations for windfarms or energy storage schemes, the extraction of critical metals (such as for lithium-ion batteries or solar cells), or closer to my field, the energy provision or greenhouse-gas abatement sectors.
How optimistic do you feel about the UK’s decarbonisation goals and the role geoscience can play in getting us there?
There’s no doubt that the targets are a stretch and will require an almighty effort to meet. But, I am optimistic, more so than in a long time, that we will meet them. The public consciousness of climate change and net zero has increased considerably over the last decades and the UK Parliament has now put into law our net-zero targets. This is huge. We know the destination, and we know when we have to get there, so now we just have to work out how to do it—and there’s a lot of work underway across many sectors to figure that out. The role of geoscientists is clear, we won’t meet these targets without the materials, the skills and experience the sector brings to the challenge.
What are some of the biggest challenges we face in getting there?
I think the scale of the net-zero transition is the biggest challenge we face. This is in everything from the size of the workforce with the particular skills to the resources and energy required to enact many of the changes needed. To give a sense of the scale of just one of the components of the challenge, by 2050 it is estimated that there will need to be somewhere in the range of 5 to 10 Gt of CO2 injected into geological reservoirs every year. Globally we currently inject about 40 Mt (of which more than 75% is for enhanced oil recovery), so we’ll need two orders of magnitude increase in less than 30 years. But what does that look like? According to the International Energy Agency, oil production globally currently sits at about 4.5 Gt per year. So, by 2050 we need a CCS industry that is, at a minimum, the size of the current oil industry, which took more than a century to develop to its current scale.
Are there any upcoming projects or developments you’re particularly excited about?
On a personal level, I’m quite excited about the mine-water geothermal project we’re just starting. We’re looking at the feasibility of using water stored within a number of old coal mines to provide heat for an industrial process that makes low-carbon plastics. It’s a nice story whereby the old carbon-extraction infrastructure and knowledge (we’ll be using the old coal mine plans to develop our model) will be used to power a low-carbon future. Otherwise, I’m really excited to see the progress on the new CCS clusters in the UK. We’re expecting a decision on which of these will be picked for deployment in the mid-2020s later this year. And then there’s COP26 in Glasgow in November for which I’m both excited and nervous. There’s a huge opportunity for the UK to lead the world’s efforts to meet net zero, but there are some tricky negotiations to be had so it’s certainly not clear yet if this will be successful.
What advice would you give to someone hoping to work in your field?
There’s no shortage of demand for geoscientists to enable the net-zero transition, so find something that excites you about the challenge, then apply yourself to that and keep going. It can sometimes seem like a rollercoaster when you’re working on climate-change challenges or technology development, but I’m convinced the future will be full of opportunities for geoscientists to make their mark and help get us to net zero.
