Mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon capture and storage in Saudi Arabia

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.12.003Get rights and content

Abstract

The main causes of global warming are now attributed to the burning of fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer and exporter of total petroleum liquids, and one of the largest consumers of total primary energy. The activities which are mainly responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions are consistently in the upslope. The electricity generation, the solid waste management, and the agricultural sectors are responsible for the highest share of emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O, respectively. The results of current research provided the initial justifications for the renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy conversion, and hybrid systems. The Master Gas Collection System of Saudi Aramco can be considered as a remarkable step forward in lowering CH4 emissions from the oil and gas fields. The integrated efforts of the public and private sectors are essential for development and implementation of appropriate strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study provides an overview of Saudi initiatives related to policy, plan, program, and/or project towards the reduction of greenhouse gases and enhancement of carbon capture and storage.

Introduction

The terrestrial carbon cycle has undergone direct and indirect changes over the last 200 years. Direct changes are the results of the interaction between an increasing global population and land use, and indirect changes have been the consequences of these changes. Sabine et al. [125] mentioned that the addition of around 400 Pg C to the atmosphere mainly through the burning of fossil fuels and land-use change mainly contributed to the rise in atmospheric CO2 from 280 to around 380 ppm. The changes in the land-use contribute significantly in altering ecosystem productivity in terms of carbon storage [74], [103], [143]. It is estimated that the human actions are responsible for the transformation up to 50% of the earth's land surface [147].

The typical approaches taken to address the problem of greenhouse gas emission include the adoption of a plan, policy and program, that in combination reduce the emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG). These approaches emphasize on renewable and green energy sources, rational use of energy (RUE), and more energy efficient technologies. At the same time, in order to address the rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, protecting and increasing the sinks for CO2, CH4, and N2O may play a crucial role along with the cutting of anthropogenic emissions in determining how the climate of the 21st century unfolds [116].

The main causes of global warming are attributed to burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, and releasing into the atmosphere, the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer and exporter of total petroleum liquids, and its economy remains heavily dependent on oil and petroleum-related industries, including petrochemicals and petroleum refining [46]. Oil export revenues have accounted for around 90% of total Saudi export earnings and state revenues. As well, oil demand is expected to grow in the future due to the continuing increase in world demand and to the lack of commercially viable and easily storable alternative, non-fossil energy sources [69]. Moreover, the world demand for natural gas is also projected to increase rapidly and around 60% of the increase in annual gas demand is accounted for by the power generation sector [43].

In line with the Kingdom's strong commitment to sustainable development, the public and private sector, and even the people of Saudi Arabia started considering climate change issues in the list of priorities. The Kingdom ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and has accessed the Kyoto Protocol [144]. The country is showing keen interest to actively participate in the development of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and RUE. A process of environmental awakening is also being observed in the Kingdom. It is expected that the use and development of RES and RUE can make a significant contribution to improving environmental protection [30], [55].

The next section will briefly address the main challenges facing developing countries in combating greenhouse gas emissions. The third section analyzes the contributions of different sectors in the greenhouse gas emissions. The fourth section elaborates the different initiatives taken by the Kingdom in order to control and mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions or improve sinks of greenhouse gases. The fifth section sheds light on the relevant present and future research on mitigation measures. The last section draws appropriate conclusions.

Section snippets

Challenges in the developing countries

Typically, GHG emissions are significantly affected by economic and population growth, increased transportation use, and industrialization [111]. Although economic development and greenhouse gas reduction strategies are not conflicting in many cases, the developing countries are now facing the challenge of addressing both the issues collectively without hampering the national economy or environment. However, many developing countries started considering the renewable resources along with fossil

Analysis of greenhouse gas emissions

Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) submitted the first national communication of Saudi Arabia to UNFCCC in which the national greenhouse gas inventory for the year 1990 is also reported [110]. In that inventory, CO2 emissions were estimated at 140,958 Gg (1 Giga gram = 1000 tons), and the energy sector contributed 90% of the total CO2 emissions, followed by the industrial processes and product use sector (8%). The main source categories including electricity generation, road transport,

Saudi initiatives

Saudi Arabia is the largest consumer of petroleum in the Middle East and the consumption growth has been encouraged by the economic boom due to historically high oil prices and large fuel subsidies. In 2006, Saudi Arabia was the 15th largest consumer of total primary energy, of which 60% was petroleum-based and the remaining 40% was made up of natural gas [44]. These circumstances force the Kingdom to take positive initiatives to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The research community is showing

Present and potential future research initiatives

It is already found out that electricity generation, road transport, fuel combustion in desalination plants, and solid waste management are the typical key contributors for the Kingdom. Due to the huge infrastructure development projects in the Kingdom, the role of the cement industry is also expected to be significant in greenhouse gas reduction. Therefore, it is imperative to develop future research strategy focusing on the areas which have high potentials for greenhouse gas reduction. In the

Conclusion

One of the strategic principals for the early five-year national development plans of the Kingdom provides environmental conservation, protection, and enhancement as well as prevention of pollution. These kinds of strategic principal inspired many important agencies of the Kingdom concerned or related to environment to come forward and take sincere initiatives to reduce GHG emissions. The ongoing research and development activities of the local universities and research organizations provided

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) in conducting this research.

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