Indirect carbon emissions of enhanced weathering in Malaysia

Abstract

Enhanced weathering (EW) of rocks and minerals can be used as a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technique. EW relies on accelerated geochemical reactions between carbonic acid in rainwater and slightly alkaline minerals to permanently sequester carbon atoms as bicarbonate ions in runoff water. The material needs to be crushed into a fine powder to increase its reactive surface area and then spread on land at a rate calibrated to local weather and soil conditions. However, large-scale EW using virgin material will increase outputs and carbon footprints across various economic sectors to support the CDR system. Input-output analysis is used to model such indirect effects when basalt EW is used in all oil palm plantations in Malaysia to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Results at a fixed electricity carbon intensity show that about half of the direct CDR will be offset by incremental carbon footprints from the mining, electricity generation, and transportation sectors due to the requirements of EW operations; total greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by up to 11.0% to 213.7 Mt CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e)/y. Cutting the carbon intensity of electricity supply in half reduces emissions further to 126.9 Mt CO₂e/y. The scenario analyses demonstrate the synergy between renewable energy deployment and EW implementation, supporting the development of carbon management policies in Malaysia.

Keywords

Decarbonisation / net zero / carbon credits / negative emissions technology / environmentally extended input-output analysis / palm oil industry

References

[1] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Summary for Policymakers. In Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change: Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, 2023; pp 3-48.

[2] Mannion P,Scott J,Ringvold E. Carbon removals: How to scale a new gigaton industry. McKinsey & Company, New York, NY, 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/carbon-removals-how-to-scale-a-new-gigaton-industry (accessed 2025-08-06).

[3] Dowell N,Haszeldine RS.Comparing approaches for carbon dioxide removal.Joule2022;6:2233-9

[4] Prado A.The cost of permanent carbon dioxide removal.Joule2023;7:700-12

[5] Deprez A,Dooley K.Sustainability limits needed for CO₂ removal.Science2024;383:484-6

[6] Mühlbauer A,Gerhards C,Sterner M.Assessment of technologies and economics for carbon dioxide removal from a portfolio perspective.Int J Greenh Gas Control2025;141:104297

[7] Seifritz W.CO₂ disposal by means of silicates.Nature1990;345:486

[8] Kojima T,Ueno N.Absorption and fixation of carbon dioxide by rock weathering.Energy Convers Manag1997;38:S461-6

[9] Strefler J,Bauer N,Hartmann J.Potential and costs of carbon dioxide removal by enhanced weathering of rocks.Environ Res Lett2018;13:034010

[10] Beerling DJ,Kantola IB.Enhanced weathering in the US Corn Belt delivers carbon removal with agronomic benefits.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A2024;121:e2319436121 PMCID:PMC10907306

[11] Haque F,Chiang YW.Urban Farming with enhanced rock weathering as a prospective climate stabilization wedge.Environ Sci Technol2021;55:13575-8

[12] Meysman FJ.Negative CO₂ emissions via enhanced silicate weathering in coastal environments.Biol Lett2017;13:20160905 PMCID:PMC5414690

[13] Foteinis S,Renforth P.Life cycle assessment of coastal enhanced weathering for carbon dioxide removal from air.Environ Sci Technol2023;57:6169-78 PMCID:PMC10116589

[14] Goll DS,Amann T.Potential CO₂ removal from enhanced weathering by ecosystem responses to powdered rock.Nat Geosci2021;14:545-9

[15] Renforth P.The negative emission potential of alkaline materials.Nat Commun2019;10:1401 PMCID:PMC6438983

[16] Campbell JS,Furey V.Geochemical negative emissions technologies: part I. review.Front Clim2022;4:879133

[17] Maesano CN,Foteinis S.Geochemical negative emissions technologies: part II. roadmap.Front Clim2022;4:945332

[18] Larkin CS,Pearce CR.Quantification of CO₂ removal in a large-scale enhanced weathering field trial on an oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysia.Front Clim2022;4:959229

[19] Linke T,Möckel S.Direct evidence of CO₂ drawdown through enhanced weathering in soils.Geochem Persp Let2024;30:7-12

[20] Calabrese S,Bertagni MB.Nano- to global-scale uncertainties in terrestrial enhanced weathering.Environ Sci Technol2022;56:15261-72

[21] Abdalqadir M,Rezaei Gomari S.A state of the art of review on factors affecting the enhanced weathering in agricultural soil: strategies for carbon sequestration and climate mitigation.Environ Sci Pollut Res Int2024;31:19047-70

[22] Clarkson MO,Swoboda P.A review of measurement for quantification of carbon dioxide removal by enhanced weathering in soil.Front Clim2024;6:1345224

[23] Spence E,Pidgeon N.Exploring cross-national public support for the use of enhanced weathering as a land-based carbon dioxide removal strategy.Clim Change2021;165:23 PMCID:PMC7978169

[24] Eufrasio RM,Edwards NR.Environmental and health impacts of atmospheric CO₂ removal by enhanced rock weathering depend on nations’ energy mix.Commun Earth Environ2022;3:436

[25] Lefebvre D,Williams A.Assessing the potential of soil carbonation and enhanced weathering through life cycle assessment: a case study for Sao Paulo State, Brazil.J Clean Prod2019;233:468-81

[26] Jerden J,Filho ANZ,Campe J.The impact of geochemical and life-cycle variables on carbon dioxide removal by enhanced rock weathering: development and application of the Stella ERW model.Appl Geochem2024;167:106

[27] Oppon E,Koh SL.Macro-level economic and environmental sustainability of negative emission technologies; case study of crushed silicate production for enhanced weathering.Ecol Econ2023;204:107636

[28] Oppon E,Eufrasio R.Sustainability performance of enhanced weathering across countries: a triple bottom line approach.Energy Econ2024;136:107722

[29] Aviso KB,Ramos CA.Economic ripple effects of large-scale basalt enhanced weathering in the Philippines.Chem Eng Trans2024;114:547-52.

[30] Leontief W.Environmental repercussions and the economic structure: an input-output approach.Rev Econ Stat1970;52:262-71

[31] Hashim Z,Harun MH.Carbon footprint of oil palm planted on peat in Malaysia.Int J Life Cycle Assess2018;23:1201-17

[32] Hosseini SE.Pollutant in palm oil production process.J Air Waste Manag Assoc2015;65:773-81

[33] Rajakal JP,Zulkifli A.Analysis of current state, gaps, and opportunities for technologies in the Malaysian oil palm estates and palm oil mills towards net-zero emissions.Heliyon2024;10:e30768 PMCID:PMC11107217

[34] Cox E,Spence E,Beerling D.Question-Led Innovation: public priorities for enhanced weathering research in Malaysia.Environ Sci Policy2025;163:103977

[35] Leontief WW.Quantitative input and output relations in the economic systems of the United States.Rev Econ Stat1936;18:105-25

[36] Miller RE.Input-output analysis: foundations and extensions, 4th ed.; Cambridge University Press, 2019.

[37] Dong Q,Geng Y,Chen W.A bibliometric review of carbon footprint research.Carbon Footprints2024;3:24

[38] Malaysia: Input-Output Economic Indicators. Asian Development Bank. https://data.adb.org/dataset/malaysia-input-output-economic-indicators (accessed 2026-01-5).

[39] SCP Hotspot Analysis. https://scp-hat.org/ (accessed 2026-01-5).

[40] Malaysia Page. fertiMetrics. https://fertimetrics.com/markets/malaysia/ (accessed 2026-01-5).

[41] Ye KQ.Orthogonal column latin hypercubes and their application in computer experiments.J Am Stat Assoc1998;93:1430-9

[42] Carbon intensity of electricity generation, 2024. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/carbon-intensity-electricity (accessed 2026-01-5).

[43] Fernandez MI,Früh W.Projection of electricity generation profiles and carbon emissions towards 2050: a Malaysia Context.Energy Sustain Dev2025;85:101681

[44] Akhmetov A,Akimoto Y.Energy consumption assessment of silicate rock comminution options for enhanced weathering.J Environ Manage2025;393:127073