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Kazakhstan has a relatively high level of overall gender development, as well as of female employment in its energy industries. Diverse views and backgrounds are necessary to address the challenges of curbing emissions in Kazakhstan, a major fossil fuel producer and exporter. However, our analysis of the Labor Force Survey indicates that female representation among energy sector managers and overall workforce has been falling over time. Moreover, we find that women in Kazakhstan’s coal mining, petroleum extraction, and power industries are concentrated in low-skilled and non-core occupations. Next, by analyzing data on labor compensation within energy occupations, we discover signs of persistent vertical discrimination, which may reduce incentives for women to upgrade their skills. Finally, we find that major shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may stall or reverse prior progress in increasing the energy sector’s gender diversity. Our findings contribute to raising gender awareness among the stakeholders in Kazakhstan’s energy sector in order to facilitate evidence-based gender mainstreaming.

Adsorption cooling and desalination systems have a distinct advantage over other systems that use low‐grade waste heat near ambient temperature. Since improving their performance, including reliability and failure prediction, is challenging, developing an efficient diagnostic system is of great practical significance. The paper introduces artificial intelligence (AI) and an automated machine learning approach (AutoML) in a real‐life application for a computational diagnostic system of existing adsorption cooling and desalination facilities. A total of 1769 simulated data points containing data indicating a failure status are applied to develop a comprehensive AI‐based Diagnostic (AID) system covering a wide range of 42 input parameters. The paper introduces a conditional monitoring system for adsorption cooling and desalination systems. The novelty of the presented study mainly consists of two aspects. First, the intelligent system predicts the health or failure states of various components in a complex three‐bed adsorption chiller installation using the extensive input data sets of 42 different operating parameters. The developed AID expert tool, based on selecting the best from 42 models generated by the DataRobot platform, was validated on the complex, existing three‐bed adsorption chiller. The AID system correctly identified healthy and failure states in various installation components. The developed expert system is very efficient (AUC = 0.988, RMSE = 0.20, LogLoss = 0.14) in predicting emergency states. The proposed method constitutes a quick and easy technique for failure prediction and represents a complementary tool compared to the other condition monitoring methods. Adsorption cooling and desalination system.

Accelerating global energy demand and associated CO₂ emissions accentuate the urgent need for sustainable energy storage solutions. Aqueous rechargeable Zn–air batteries (RZABs) have emerged as a promising candidate for renewable energy storage, owing to their inherent safety, cost‐effectiveness, and reduced environmental impact. However, despite significant progress in laboratory and pilot‐scale research, their large‐scale deployment remains uncertain. A comprehensive evaluation of their technological maturity and carbon neutrality is essential to bridge this gap. This perspective critically examines the current status of RZABs, recent technological advancements, and their associated CO₂ footprint, with a focus on overcoming performance limitations and enabling large‐scale implementation. We conclude by highlighting practical obstacles, commercialization potential, current market status, and future directions for substantial implementation of RZABs in the pursuit of sustainability. Despite promising advances at laboratory and pilot scale, the large‐scale deployment of aqueous rechargeable zinc–air batteries (RZABs) remains elusive. This perspective evaluates their maturity and environmental impact, examining recent developments and performance challenges. We assess the feasibility of bridging the gap between environmental benefits and technological barriers and future directions to realize their potential in a sustainable energy landscape.

Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology has gained recognition as an effective method for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels. This study emphasizes the optimization of critical process parameters to improve the efficiency of aqueous hydroxide-based DAC systems while lowering operational costs. Aspen Plus simulations were employed to model the process flow, pinpoint key reaction mechanisms, and evaluate how different operating conditions influence CO₂ capture efficiency. A sensitivity analysis explored the impact of variables such as air contactor parameters, solvent concentration, temperature, pressure, and moisture content on system performance. The results demonstrated that adjusting the Ca (OH)₂ flow rate to 760 t.h-1 achieves a 75% CO₂ capture rate at the air contactor, while maintaining an inlet air pressure of 1.1 atm enhances absorption. The CO2 capture rate increased gradually with the increase of inlet air temperature. The highest CO2 capture rate of 92% is given at 40°C, and 4% H2O content is in the inlet air. However, the impact of the moisture content is negligible. Furthermore, structured packing materials like BX packing outperformed Mellapak 250Y and Mellapak 350Y in efficiency. These insights support the development of economical DAC strategies, advancing technologies for carbon removal to achieve net-zero emissions.

Agriculture accounts for 12% of global annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (7.1 Gt CO 2 equivalent), primarily through non-CO 2 emissions, namely methane (54%), nitrous oxide (28%), and carbon dioxide (18%). Thus, agriculture contributes significantly to climate change and is significantly impacted by its consequences. Here, we present a review of technologies and innovations for reducing GHG emissions in agriculture. These include decarbonizing on-farm energy use, adopting nitrogen fertilizers management technologies, alternative rice cultivation methods, and feeding and breeding technologies for reducing enteric methane. Combined, all these measures can reduce agricultural GHG emissions by up to 45%. However, residual emissions of 3.8 Gt CO 2 equivalent per year will require offsets from carbon dioxide removal technologies to make agriculture net-zero. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage and enhanced rock weathering are particularly promising techniques, as they can be implemented within agriculture and result in permanent carbon sequestration. While net-zero technologies are technically available, they come with a price premium over the status quo and have limited adoption. Further research and development are needed to make such technologies more affordable and scalable and understand their synergies and wider socio-environmental impacts. With support and incentives, agriculture can transition from a significant emitter to a carbon sink. This study may serve as a blueprint to identify areas where further research and investments are needed to support and accelerate a transition to net-zero emissions agriculture.

Mounting countries worldwide are implementing net-zero emission projects to mitigate the adverse impacts of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and the associated global warming. However, due to the inherent inertia of the climate system and the influence of non-CO2 greenhouse gases, temperatures may continue to rise even after the global atmospheric CO2 concentration peaks. Using the latest climate models, we investigate regional temperature changes under net-zero emission scenarios, taking the Tibetan Plateau (TP) as an example, focusing on the time lag between the peaks of temperature and CO2 concentrations, as well as the additional risks associated with delayed net-zero emission. Our results indicate an overall warming of 1.4 and 2.1 °C in SSP1-1.9 and SSP1-2.6 scenarios by the end of the 21st century relative to the 1985–2014 baseline, with a larger warming magnitude in the eastern TP and more uniform warming in the early and late net-zero emission scenarios, respectively. Most climate models reveal a time lag between the CO2 concentration peak and the surface air temperature peak ranging from years to decades. The northern and eastern TP experience the longest time lag under the early net-zero emission scenario, while the western TP shows the largest time lag for delayed net-zero emission. Postponing net-zero emission by 20 years adds at least an additional 0.8 °C warming to the mean temperature, with even larger increases of 1.0 °C in extreme temperatures.

Excessive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere have become a dire threat to the human race and environmental sustainability. The ultimate goal of net zero emissions requires combined efforts on CO2 sequestration (natural sinks, biomass fixation, engineered approaches) and reduction in CO2 emissions while delivering economic growth (CO2 valorization for a circular carbon bioeconomy, CCE). We discuss microalgae-based CO2 biosequestration, including flue gas cultivation, biotechnological approaches for enhanced CO2 biosequestration, technological innovations for microalgal cultivation, and CO2 valorization/biofuel productions. We highlight challenges to current practices and future perspectives with the goal of contributing to environmental sustainability, net zero emissions, and the CCE. Carbon capture, storage, and utilization are crucial to ensure carbon valorization into valuable bioenergy and bioproducts.Carbon dioxide (CO2) biosequestration by microalgae contributes to net zero emissions.Microalgae are promising due to non-interference with agriculture, thus supporting food security, promoting energy security, and posing fewer environmental issues.Using flue gas for microalgal cultivation and CO2 sequestration is promising.Genetic engineering of microalgal species and technology innovations could improve microalgal photosynthesis efficiency for CO2 biosequestration and biorefineries.Microalgal biorefineries contribute to sustainable carbon management and the bioeconomy.

In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the latest research trends in terms of the preparation, and characteristics of activated carbons regarding CO 2 adsorption applications, with a special focus on future investigation paths. The reported current research trends are primarily closely related to the synthesis conditions (carbonization and physical or chemical activation process), to develop the microporosity and surface area, which are the most important factors affecting the effectiveness of adsorption. Furthermore, we emphasized the importance of regeneration techniques as a factor determining the actual technological and economic suitability of a given material for CO 2 capture application. Consequently, this work provides a summary and potential directions for the development of activated carbons (AC). We attempt to create a thorough theoretical foundation for activated carbons while also focusing on identifying and specific statements of the most relevant ongoing research scope that might be advantageous to progress and pursue in the coming years.

By synthetically producing nitrogen fertilizers from ammonia (NH 3 ), the Haber–Bosch process has been feeding humanity for more than one hundred years. However, current NH 3 production relies on fossil fuels, and is energy and carbon intensive. This commits humanity to emissions levels not compatible with climate goals and commits agricultural production to fossil fuels dependency. Here, we quantify food and energy implications of transitioning nitrogen fertilizers to net-zero CO 2 emissions. We find that 1.07 billion people are fed from food produced from imported nitrogen fertilizers. An additional 710 million people are fed from imported natural gas feedstocks used for fertilizers production, meaning that 1.78 billion people per year are fed from imports of either fertilizers or natural gas. These findings highlight the reliance of global food production on trading and fossil fuels, hence its vulnerability to supply and energy shocks. However, alternative routes to achieve net-zero emissions in NH 3 production exist, which are based on carbon capture and storage, electrification, and biomass. These routes comply with climate targets while mitigating the risks associated with food security. Yet, they require more land, energy, and water than business-as-usual production, exacerbating land and water scarcity and the use of limited natural resources. Transitioning fertilizers to net-zero emissions can contribute to climate and food security goals, although water, land, and energy trade-offs should be considered.

This study uses the tree stumps of the three representative trees in Taiwan (Leucaena leucocephala, Syzygium samarangense, and Ziziphus jujuba) as the material source and recyclable oyster shell powder as an activator. A carbonization process for upgrading and recycling the tree stumps was developed with our homemade, digital-controlled, energy-saving carbonization system. First, the tree stumps are carbonized at a medium temperature of 500 °C and then heated to 900 °C for high-temperature carbonization, followed by the activation procedure as required. With our method, we can produce biochar with a high proportion of fixed carbon and a high proportion of meso- and macropores while maximizing the yield of wood vinegar. The specific surface area of the meso- and macropores can reach up to 70 m2/g or more. The effect of different activation materials on the pore characteristics and specific surface area of biochar was carefully examined. It was found that both KOH and oyster shell powder is the ideal activator for producing biochar with a high proportion of meso- and macropores. The FTIR spectrum, CEC, and contents of the ordinary elements and heavy metals of the biochar were also reported. It is clear from the FTIR data that the absorption peaks of the overall spectrum of the three types of biochar after carbonization at high temperature are cleaner than those of biochar carbonized at low temperature. This research can promote the recycling of agricultural residues, enhance soil carbon sequestration, preserve fertilizers, and suppress diseases and pests, moving towards approaching the goal of net-zero carbon emissions.