High quality, recently updated emissions data are crucial for earth systems models to represent the impact of anthropogenic emissions on the environment and human health.

The Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) was created to produce readily updateable historical emissions data sets by combining existing energy data and inventory data. The first CEDS dataset extending to 2014 was used in CMIP6, with an updated version out to 2019 released in 2021. We report on an updated global anthropogenic emission inventory dataset (1750 – 2022) of aerosol (BC, OC), aerosol and ozone precursor compounds (SO2, NOx, NH3, CO, NMVOC), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). CEDS reports annual country-total emissions for 71 sectors and 8 fuel categories and monthly gridded (.5 x .5 degree for all years, and .1 x .1 degree for recent years) emission fluxes for 8 sectors. It is anticipated that a subsequent release of this dataset will be used as the historical anthropogenic emissions forcing data set for CMIP7. It is, therefore, important that modelers test and evaluate this data to identify any issues that should be resolved before CMIP7 production runs begin.

Relative to the previous release (O’Rourke et al 2020), this update extends emissions from 2019 to 2022; details aluminum, iron and steel, and non-ferrous metal productions; utilizes point source data from the OMI satellite and other sources to refine gridded emissions; updates the methodology for estimating seasonality of emissions to address COVID anomalies; and updates all relevant data sources. In addition to providing new estimates for recent years, this update revises historical estimates from previous versions of the data set. We also report on analysis exploring the uncertainty involved in extending emissions to most recent years using aggregate data trends. This data set was released in early 2024 and the next update is planned for late summer/early fall 2024.

Natural gas accounted for 40% of US electricity generation in 2020, up from 22% in 2008, showing the highest growth rate among electricity sources despite efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Burning natural gas to produce electricity is projected to continue, even in planned decarbonization roadmaps. Thorough accounting of the climate change impacts of natural gas from cradle to grave is thus crucial to guide the energy transition towards climate change mitigation. Despite the many studies that have determined the climate change impacts of the natural gas power system, none comprehensively include direct land use change (DLUC) effects. The climate change impacts of DLUC emerge from loss of original biomass, soil organic carbon loss, change in net primary productivity, and altering the surface albedo of the site, which are variable site to site. Well pads at the stage of natural gas extraction occupy 7% to 12% of land in the natural gas system, but their construction on remote lands with minimal prior development may incur notable DLUC impacts. Well pads also differ in their lifetimes, total gas production, altered areas, and extent of earth flattening, which further affect the life cycle climate change impacts of natural gas. This study is the first life cycle assessment (LCA) of natural gas-producing well pads that incorporates the spatial variations in these parameters and DLUC effects, using geographically specific data of existing well pads. Natural gas production in New Mexico was chosen as a case study for this geospatial LCA. The state has a varied geography with different land covers, each storing varying amounts of carbon, and a history of natural gas extraction that extends to today. Active gas wells constructed in New Mexico between 1950 and 2020 and with a minimum average daily gas production of 0.5 Mcf, were selected, totaling 24,991 wells. A pipeline of functions was developed in R to conduct LCA on large numbers of gas wells automatically while collecting geospatial data. The pipeline was first tested with a randomized subset of 32 of the gas wells, situated on different types of land cover in New Mexico. The results suggest that the impact of DLUC can be substantial in regions with rich organic carbon or high productivity, like forests. Subsequently, machine learning techniques, including object detection from maps and satellite imagery, were integrated into the workflow to delineate the spatial extents of the thousands of well pads efficiently for site-specific data collection. Training datasets were developed by manually delineating well pads and surrounding areas. The effects of machine learning with separate training datasets by land cover type relative to one training dataset were investigated, as were the effects of training dataset size on machine learning delineation accuracy. The results indicate prospective best practices for geospatial data collection for large numbers of relatively small areas using machine learning. The variation in DLUC impacts by well pad site and relationships between well pad features and DLUC impacts will also be discussed, in order to guide future development and remediation efforts.

In alignment with the IPCC's Sixth Climate Assessment Report, which underscores the significance of carbon sequestration in saline aquifers to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, this study conducts a nationwide geospatial assessment of Colombia's carbon sequestration potential. Deep-saline aquifers are considered potential CS sites due to their global availability and cost-effectiveness. However, the geological heterogeneity of underground formations substantiallyy influences storage potential and costs, necessitating the consideration of local variability when estimating techno-economic resources for CS deployment.

The methodical approach used for this analysis integrates geospatial analysis with cost estimation in three main stages: a) identifying feasible areas with proximity algorithms and geostatistical methods, b) Then, characterizing those areas in terms of storage potential using the volumetric approach equation and Montecarlo simulations (CO2 screen tool, NETL 2017), and c) modeling storage cost using a proxy from Rio Frio, Texas (using the NETL,2017 model).

We have identified 160,000 km² of feasible locations for Carbon sequestration distributed across six basins after screening previously published and open technical data in 14 continental sedimentary basins and overlapping layers relating to surface exclusion areas and leakage risk minimization. The results suggest a theoretical total capacity exceeding 1.1 Tera tonnes CO2 in P50 (0.11- 1.9 Tera tonnes) and an effective capacity of 65,000 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2 (16,000-183,000 M tonnes) predominantly concentrated in Colombia's eastern region, specifically the Llanos basin, where efficient storage capacity 29,000 Mt in P50. Subsequently, modeling of storage costs generates representative CO2 storage cost curves, indicating that up to 20 Gt of CO2 can be stored in the Llanos basin at a levelized cost below $20 per Metric ton.

This comprehensive assessment yields valuable insights into CS technical feasibility and economic viability in Colombia, providing crucial insights for policy decisions and future investments in carbon management strategies, especially in offset carbon markets. This research highlights the significant role of CS in global climate mitigation efforts, presenting a pathway toward carbon neutrality for Colombia and, potentially, for the global south community.

This work summarizes the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL) modeling and analysis of some of the key decarbonization opportunities in the natural gas supply chain. In recent years, there has been growing interest in reducing methane emissions, with a specific focus on emissions from natural gas infrastructure, due to the much higher global warming potential of methane as compared to carbon dioxide. To enable deeper insights into the emissions mitigation potential of existing natural gas system technologies, NETL developed a natural gas decarbonization tool that incorporates data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Natural Gas STAR Program, studying 18 methane mitigation strategies for various emissions sources (including compressors, dehydrators, flaring, etc.) across the production through distribution segments of the natural gas supply chain. Additional emissions mitigation strategies provided in recent literature are investigated as part of this work. For grounding our analysis, this work reviews recent EPA regulations for curbing methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations through a detailed study of the final new source performance standards and emissions guidelines published in December 2023 and incorporates these standards into our modeling framework. The new regulations cover a range of emissions sources, exhibiting some overlap with the sources covered by the 18 methane mitigation strategies.

Disclaimer:

This project was funded by the United States Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory an agency of the United States Government, in part, through a support contract. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of its employees, nor the support contractor, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Exposure to risks associated with the production and usage of products, particularly oil, poses significant threats to both ecological systems and human health. Notable examples include the Gulf War Oil Spill (1991) and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (2010). However, numerous smaller-scale oil spills, occurring annually, contribute to substantial oil releases. These incidents span various life cycle stages of oil production—drilling, transportation, refining, and usage—each affecting different environmental compartments (e.g., oceans, rivers, roads) and involving distinct products (e.g., crude oil, refined products). Understanding the environmental impacts of historical oil spill incidents associated with different life cycle stages and processes of oil production can help us better assess the environmental risks of producing and consuming oil, which is not captured by the existing life cycle framework.

To fill this gap, our study first developed a detailed oil spill incidents database, covering 1967 to 2023. We quantified the released amount (RA) of oil spills recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Subsequently, we utilized life cycle impact indicators in ReCiPe to evaluate the environmental impacts of these spills. Our findings reveal that approximately 6 million gallons of oil have been spilled in North America, equating to the volume of three Deepwater Horizon spills. The human toxicity of the annually spilled oil is comparable to the release of hundreds of tons of dichlorobenzene (DCB), while its ecotoxicities are equivalent to tens of thousands of tons DCB. Additionally, we observed that the global warming potential and ozone formation potential of spilled oil are highly dependent on the ratio of its light fraction in the spilled oil products.