Sustainable Carbon Utilization for a Climate-Neutral Economy–Framework Necessities and Assessment Criteria

Tjerk Zitscher () and Martin Kaltschmitt
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Tjerk Zitscher: Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics, Hamburg University of Technology, Eißendorfer Straße 40, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
Martin Kaltschmitt: Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics, Hamburg University of Technology, Eißendorfer Straße 40, 21073 Hamburg, Germany

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-24

Abstract: The need to limit anthropogenic climate change to 1.5–2 °C, as agreed in the Paris Agreement, requires a significant reduction of CO 2 emissions resulting from the use of fossil carbon. However, based on current knowledge, carbon is expected to remain crucial in certain industrial sectors, e.g., the chemical industry. Consequently, it is essential to identify and utilize sustainable carbon sources in the future. In this context, various carbon sources were examined and classified in terms of their disruption of the Earth’s (fast) carbon cycle. Furthermore, the examined carbon sources were qualitatively analyzed with regard to their technical readiness level, their energy expenditure, and their current and future availability, as well as legal regulation within the European Union. As a result, only biogenic and mixed carbon from the ambient air can be considered genuinely sustainable within the Earth’s (fast) carbon cycle. Mixed carbon streams, e.g., from waste recycling, fall into a gray area. The same applies to certain process-related emissions that originally descend from fossil fuel energy. In terms of energy considerations, technical maturity, and exploitable potentials, prioritizing the utilization of biogenic carbon sources is advisable for the time being, especially for CO 2 produced as a by-product originating from biogenic carbon carriers.

Keywords: sustainable carbon; defossilization; carbon capture and utilization (CCU); carbon neutrality; carbon cycle; sustainability criteria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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