Technical Solutions
While the policies discussed in the previous section outline intentions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particular carbon dioxide emissions, however, cannot be achieved without the introduction of innovative technical solutions that facilitate the reduction thereof. Williams and Bråthen (2016) cite that in the aviation industry, the adoption of alternative fuels and blending carbon-neutral fuels can reduce emissions between 10 to 20%. Different research by Thomas (2015) also resonates with the findings, reporting that the adoption of hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles can lead to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 80% which is below the 1990 levels.
A second strategy is the capturing and storing of the emissions, whereby existent carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is removed via carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies and directed to other applications (Smit et al., 2014). The researchers identify two primary methods to capture carbon dioxide from power plants: post-combustion and pre-combustion carbon capture techniques. With the post-combustion technique, coal is mixed with air and burned to generate heat which is directed to produce high-pressure steam that powers turbines. However, as the process generates impurities including greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and sulfur oxides, the impurities can be easily removed by adding the carbon-capture element as an accessory to the existing power plant (Smit et al., 2014). Refer to figure 8, which demonstrates post-combustion carbon capture.