Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change (Part-II)

Contour bunding is a Mechanical measure which minimizes the soil erosion. Relay cropping means that a new crop is planted or sown before the previous one is harvested.

This can provide advantages for both crops as one of them may provide nitrogen, shade, support or may discourage pests. The obvious benefit of Relay cropping is soil conservation.

Zero tillage is also based on the premise of soil conservation, the basic premise is to minimize the disturbances to the soil leading to an increase in retention of water, nutrients and topsoil itself.

Zero tillage has carbon sequestration potential through storage of soil organic matter in the soil of crop fields. Thus all the three help in carbon sequestration.

Built on the principles of CSA (Climate smart agriculture), this program provides technological, organizational and systemic support to farmers in association with institutions to help them cope with climate change, in different sites across various countries.

The governance and management of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) are based on lessons learned by CGIAR headquartered in France.

The International crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been awarded the 2021 Africa food Prize. ICRISAT, a CGIAR Research Centre, is a non-profit, non-political public international research organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.

In the context of mitigating the impending global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, abandoned and uneconomical coal seams, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and subterranean deep saline formations could be the potential sites for carbon sequestration.

Copper slag, a by-product of copper smelting, can be used as an aggregate in road construction, reducing the need for virgin aggregates and minimizing waste. It also provides environmental and economic benefits, especially in areas with copper slag production.

Unlike hot mix asphalt, which requires heating and involves high energy consumption and emissions, cold mix asphalt uses bitumen emulsion and doesn't require heating, reducing energy use and emissions. It's also relatively pollution-free, as it doesn't release harmful fumes.

Geotextiles: are fabrics used to stabilize soil, improve drainage, and reduce the need for aggregates in road construction. They can also help improve road life and performance. Geotextiles can be made from natural materials like coir, further contributing to environmental sustainability.

They approximately consume the world's 48% of energy and contribute nearly 48% of the world's greenhouse gases.

They intend to support the Kyoto Protocol however some of the countries have not ratified it.

The primary greenhouse gases in earth's atmosphere are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone. Hence, (d) is the correct answer.

It emits about 28% of the world's total carbon emission. The United States is in second place with 15% and India is in third place with 7%.

Russia is in fourth place with 5% and Japan is in fifth place in terms of carbon emission with 3% of the world's total CO2 emission.

Greenhouse gases are atmospheric gases that trap heat from the Earth's surface, contributing to the greenhouse effect. This phenomenon is leading to significant global warming and climate change
The greenhouse effect is primarily caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂), and water vapor. These gases trap heat from the sun, preventing it from escaping back into space, leading to a warming greenhouse effect. Human activities like burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas), deforestation, and industrial processes significantly increase the concentration of these gases causing greenhouse effect. Natural processes, such as volcanic eruptions and solar radiation, also contribute, but human actions are the dominant drivers of the enhanced greenhouse effect.

It is the World's first comprehensive energy road map which came ahead of the United Nations November 2021. 'Net zero emissions' refers to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere.

What is Net Zero?

Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero. Rather, net-zero is a state in which as country's emissions are compensated be absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Absorption of the emissions can be increased by creating more carbon sinks such as forests, while the removal of gases from the atmosphere requires futuristic technologies such as carbon capture and storage. This way, it is even possible for a country to have negative emissions, if the absorption and removal exceed the actual emissions.

A good example is Bhutan which is often described as carbon- negative because it absorbs more than it emits. Significantly, India pledges net zero by 2070 while China has targeted this by 2060.