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Japan Today
01-07-2025
- Science
- Japan Today
Rock on: How crushed stone could help fight climate change
By Sara HUSSEIN From sugar plantations in Brazil to tea estates in India, crushed rock is being sprinkled across large stretches of farmland globally in a novel bid to combat climate change. The technique is called Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) and aims to speed up the natural capture and storage of carbon dioxide -- a planet-warming greenhouse gas. It is potentially big business with tech giants, airlines and fast fashion firms lining up to buy carbon credits from ERW projects to "offset" or cancel out their own emissions. What is ERW? ERW aims to turbocharge a natural geological process called weathering. Weathering is the breakdown of rocks by carbonic acid, which forms when carbon dioxide in the air or soil dissolves into water. Weathering occurs naturally when rain falls on rocks, and the process can lock away carbon dioxide from the air or soil as bicarbonate, and eventually limestone. ERW speeds the process up by using quick-weathering rocks like basalt that are ground finely to increase their surface area. How effective is ERW? ERW is still a fairly new technology and there are questions about how much carbon it can remove. One US study found applying 50 tons of basalt to a hectare of land each year could remove up to 10.5 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare over a four-year period. But scientists applying basalt to oil palm fields in Malaysia and sugarcane fields in Australia measured much lower removal rates. "Field trials are showing that there have been overestimates of the amount and rate captured," said Paul Nelson, a soil scientist at James Cook University who has studied ERW. Rates depend on variables including rock type and size, how wet and hot the climate is, soil type and land management. And measuring the carbon captured is difficult. The most popular technique measures "cations", positively charged ions that are released from the rock during weathering. But those cations are produced regardless of which acid the rock has reacted with. "If there are stronger acids than carbonic, then it will react with those," said Nelson, so measurable cations are produced even when carbon dioxide is not captured. That doesn't mean ERW is pointless, said Wolfram Buss, a researcher on carbon dioxide removal at the Australian National University, just that it needs to be carefully calibrated and measured. "There is no doubt that this technique works," he said. "However, to be sure how much carbon dioxide we actually remove, more funding is required to do fundamental studies." Are there other benefits? The added rock increases soil alkalinity, which can boost crop growth, soil nutrients and soil formation. Basalt is both naturally abundant and often available as a byproduct of quarrying, lowering the costs of the process. Experts note that even if the rock reacts with other acids in the soil, failing to lock away carbon dioxide at that stage, it can still have planetary benefits. That is because acids in the soil would otherwise eventually wash into rivers and the sea, where acidification leads to the release of carbon dioxide. If the rock neutralizes that acid in the soil, "you've prevented carbon dioxide being released from the water into the atmosphere downstream", said Nelson. The scale of those possible "prevented" emissions is not yet clear, however. What are the risks? ERW is broadly considered safe since it merely speeds up an existing natural process. However, some quick-weathering rocks have high levels of potentially poisonous heavy metals. Scattering finely ground rock also requires appropriate protective gear for those involved. But the main risk is that incorrect measurements overestimate captured carbon. Some projects are already selling carbon credits from ERW. If a company buys an ERW credit to "offset" its emissions but the process captures less than projected, it could result in net higher carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere. Where is ERW being done? Projects are happening in most parts of the world, including Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. Earlier this year, a project in Brazil announced it had delivered the first-ever verified carbon-removal credits from an ERW project. The process is being used or trialled in agricultural settings from tea plantations in India's Darjeeling to U.S. soy and maize fields. What investor interest is there? An ERW startup -- Mati Carbon, working in India -- won the $50 million X Prize for carbon removal projects earlier this year. In December, Google announced what was then the world's biggest ERW deal, for 200,000 tons of carbon removal credits, to be delivered by the early 2030s by startup Terradot. The cost of the deal was not disclosed but a separate agreement by Terradot with a company representing firms including H&M sold 90,000 tons for $27 million. © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
12-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
U.S. solar tariffs could drive Asia transition boom
The share of solar cell exports to the US from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam By Sara HUSSEIN Massive planned U.S. duties on solar panels made in Southeast Asia could be a chance for the region to ramp up its own long-stalled energy transition, experts say. Washington has announced plans for hefty duties on solar panels made in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. The levies follow an investigation, launched before U.S. President Donald Trump took office, into "unfair practices" in the countries, particularly by Chinese-headquartered firms. If approved next month, they will pile upon tariffs already imposed by the Trump administration, including blanket 10-percent levies for most countries, and 145 percent on Chinese-made goods. For the U.S. market, the consequences are likely to be severe. China makes eight out of every 10 solar panels globally, and controls 80 percent of every stage of the manufacturing process. The new tariffs "will practically make solar exports to U.S. impossible commercially", said Putra Adhiguna, managing director at the Energy Shift Institute think tank. Southeast Asia accounted for nearly 80 percent of U.S. solar panel imports in 2024. And while investment in solar production has ramped up in the United States in recent years, the market still relies heavily on imported components. For Chinese manufacturers, already dealing with a saturated domestic market, the raft of tariffs is potentially very bad news. Many shifted operations to Southeast Asia hoping to avoid punitive measures imposed by Washington and the European Union as they try to protect and nurture domestic solar industries. The proposed new duties range from around 40 percent for some Malaysian exports to an eye-watering 3,521 percent for some Cambodia-based manufacturers. But there may be a silver lining for the region, explained Ben McCarron, managing director at Asia Research & Engagement. "The tariffs and trade war are likely to accelerate the energy transition in Southeast Asia," he said. China will "supercharge efforts" in regional markets and push for policy and implementation plans to "enable fast adoption of green energy across the region", driven by its exporters. Analysts have long warned that countries in the region are moving too slowly to transition from planet-warming fossil fuels like coal. "At the current pace, it (Southeast Asia) risks missing out on the opportunities provided by the declining costs of wind and solar, now cheaper than fossil fuels," said energy think tank Ember in a report last year. For example, Malaysia relied on fossil fuels for over 80 percent of its electricity generation last year. It aims to generate 24 percent from renewables by 2030, a target that has been criticised as out of step with global climate goals. The tariff regime represents a double opportunity for the region, explained Muyi Yang, senior energy analyst at Ember. So far, the local solar industry has been "largely opportunistic, focused on leveraging domestic resources or labour advantages for export gains", he told AFP. Cut off from the U.S. market, it could instead focus on local energy transitions, speeding green energy uptake locally and driving a new market that "could serve as a natural hedge against external volatility". Still, replacing the US market will not be easy, given its size and the relatively nascent state of renewables in the region. "Success hinges on turning this export-led momentum into a homegrown cleantech revolution," said Yang. "Clearance prices" may be attractive to some, but countries in the region and beyond may also be cautious about a flood of solar, said Adhiguna. Major markets like Indonesia and India already have measures in place intended to favor domestic solar production. "Many will hesitate to import massively, prioritising trade balance and aims to create local green jobs," he said. © 2025 AFP
