Abstract: Global climate targets entail reaching net-zero emissions of long-lived GHGs around midcentury. I’ll present recent work from my group on options and challenges related to climate mitigation along three distinct fronts. First, I’ll present analyses of the geophysical constraints on reliable solar- and wind-based electricity systems, including related modeling of long-duration energy storage options. Second, I’ll share findings of work assessing the global and regional drivers of land-use GHG emissions, including the magnitude and patterns of these emissions embodied in global trade. And finally, I’ll show results from new global modeling to evaluate the biophysical and economic limits and key uncertainties of seaweed-based carbon dioxide removal.

Steven J. Davis (University of California, Irvine) will present in the
2022 Perspectives on the Climate Change Challenge Seminar Series:

• Most Mondays, Spring Semester 2022, 2:45-4:00pm
• Available via Zoom (ID: 953 9733 0144; Passcode: 024210)
   

This university-wide seminar series is open to the public, and provides important views on the critical issue of climate change, drawing from many perspectives and disciplines. Experts from Cornell University and beyond present an overview of the science of climate change and climate change models, the implications for agriculture, ecosystems, and food systems, and provide important economic, ethical, and policy insights on the issue. The seminar is being organized and sponsored by the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering and the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.