STUDIES OF DIFFERENT ENERGY STRATEGIES IN TERMS OF THEIR EFFECTS ON THE ATMOSPHERIC CO2 CONCENTRATION

A tandem model of the carbon cycle has been developed and used to investigate the effects on atmospheric CO2 concentration of different energy strategies. The model correctly simulates the Suess effect, the observed increase of atmospheric CO2, and the redistribution of bomb-produced 14C. It is found that large differences in the future atmospheric CO2 concentration may be estimated due to different energy strategies. A maximum level of energy consumption of 30 TW with reliance on nuclear and solar energy leads to a global surface temperature increase of less than 1oC, while a larger ultimate energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuels leads to an increase of 9oC. - from Authors