ATmospheric MOnitoring to Support greenhouse gases Flux REporting – ATMOSFERE

How can we not be informed of the increase in GreenHouse Gas emissions and their impact on the Climate. The median assumptions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict a doubling of carbon dioxide (CO2) before the end of this century. But the concentration of other greenhouse gases with a radiative power greater than that of CO2 increases, such as for example methane (CH4). According to the IPCC, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions must accelerate by 2030 to have any chance of achieving the goal of keeping the increase in global temperature below +1.5°C. To limit our impact, it is therefore crucial to properly quantify the sinks/sources of the different types of industrial and natural ecosystems. The monitoring and quantification of air emissions are essential points of this management and reporting strategy. Today, no method on the market makes it possible to precisely and regularly quantify GHG emissions. The objective of the ATMOSFERE Chair is to respond to an unmet need of the scientific and industrial community by developing innovative solutions for the measurement of GHG flows at different spatio-temporal-scales. This will make it possible to have a precise analysis of the emissions of different types of natural ecosystems (forests, peat bogs, mangroves, soils, etc.) and industrial ones.

Indeed, the level of knowledge of GHG fluxes between the atmosphere and ecosystems remains low for large scale surfaces, the scientific community only has one-off measurements which do not make it possible to determine the spatial variability of GHG emissions.

As part of its strategy, TOTAL aims to achieve carbon neutrality (Net Zero) by 2050, for all its global activities, from production and for Europe to use by its Customers for its energy products on the market. TOTAL is convinced that the development of innovative technical solutions for the quantification of emissions will support its strategy and give it a competitive advantage in the development of its new markets.

The tools developed within the framework of this project should enable TOTAL to control its production facilities, assess the carbon storage potential of natural environments, guarantee the efficiency of the carbon capture and storage chain and support activities related to biogas and natural gas as transitional energy towards a carbon-free world. Its innovative solutions should allow a major advance in the knowledge of the mechanism of greenhouses gas emissions both within the scientific and industrial communities.