By Arun Kumar Singhal
The environment today faces a complex set of challenges; many of these are interconnected and driven by human activity. The environment, being under severe pressure due to climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and unsustainable resources, is moving to the brink of an irreversible change—a change no less than a collapse. The saying goes well here— “the last straw on the camel’s back”. I hope we human beings refrain from putting the last straw in our own interest.
Though global efforts, technological advances, and growing public awareness have started emerging aimed at pushing for a transition toward a more sustainable and resilient future, a lot more has to be done to cope with the present environmental degradation. Needless to say, effective policy changes, international cooperation, and innovations in green technologies will be crucial for addressing the pressing challenges.
Carbon plays a crucial role in the environment. Managing carbon emissions is critical to slowing climate change, protecting ecosystems, and ensuring a sustainable future. Towards this, CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage) plays a critical role in mitigating climate change by preventing carbon dioxide emissions from reaching the atmosphere while also offering ways to use it in productive ways.
If one sees, technologies like CCUS are gaining importance today due to their potential to address the pressing challenges of climate change and the need to decarbonise industries. So, what is CCUS actually? Well, CCUS works by capturing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes, power generation, or directly from the atmosphere and either utilising them for commercial purposes or storing them safely underground. It would not be wrong to say it is a critical tool in the toolkit for addressing climate change, especially reducing emissions from hard-to-abate sectors and achieving net-zero goals. Despite its limitations, its role in the energy transition is becoming increasingly crucial.
With the current pace of climate change requiring urgent mitigation strategies, CCUS can help slow down the rate of warming by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, buying time for the development of more sustainable solutions.
To discuss some of the pressing environmental issues and technological advances, as an invited speaker during the Energy Summit 2024 organised by the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), School of Advanced Studies (SoAE), I discussed the subject as someone writing on different aspects related to energy and environment for over three decades. My around 40-minute presentation dealt with the many aspects related to a burning topic like CCUS and how this could lead to a path towards decarbonisation.
With an audience comprising experts from industry and academia besides engineering graduates, postgraduates, and researchers, it formed a class of its own where learning came from both sides.
While the recognition bestowed on me by the university post-my lecture was undoubtedly a pleasant experience, more than that, what pleased me was the fact that my talk was well taken by the audience. The young minds—the engineering graduates, postgrads, and researchers—found it meaningful – the actual targets of my talk. I feel so for their attentiveness to the lecture. If the kind of attentiveness really meant what I feel it has done its purpose. The noble purpose was to reach out to the youngsters to make them ponder an important aspect such as the need for environmental protection. This is, in reality, more of a concern for them as the next generation than the present. Even if few from the crowd took the message seriously, I feel the energy spent by me was worth it.
With all humility, I am even grateful for the university acknowledging my talk as an insightful and informative one that tackled the emerging challenges in science and technology with clarity and depth that went on to convey to the audience my perspectives, which for them were not only enlightening but also highlighted the critical importance of CCUS in the context of sustainable energy solutions. Though humbled by such salutations, the real impact, if any, that I may have made during this talk and many earlier ones at different universities is that if, in a minuscule way, I may have made the audience ponder on the subject, the task is done well.
Sharing this piece is aimed at conveying to the readers that it’s high time we all wore an environmental consciousness hat that makes sure we work to save our environment and not degrade it. Remember, no effort is small in this. Every effort is therefore an effort that is a step forward! So do your bit in protecting the environment in whatever way you can.
It is true, and I share with you what Barack Obama, the former US President, says relating to the environment: “We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it.”
Think about it. Time is a constraint!
(The writer, Arun Kumar Singhal, being felicitated by UPES)
