Lorenzo Rosa

Lorenzo Rosa
Carnegie Institution for Science

Doctor of Philosophy
Principal Investigator at Carnegie Science

About

57
Publications
43,872
Reads
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4,341
Citations
Introduction
Lorenzo Rosa is a scientist at Carnegie Science at Stanford. His research focuses on understanding the opportunities and challenges of satisfying global demand for energy, water, and food without further exacerbating climate change and environmental degradation.
Additional affiliations
October 2020 - present
ETH Zurich
Position
  • PostDoc Position
Description
  • Assessing techno-environmental potential of negative emission technologies in Europe.
January 2017 - August 2020
University of California, Berkeley
Position
  • PhD Student

Publications

Publications (57)
Article
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By synthetically producing nitrogen fertilizers from ammonia, the Haber-Bosch process has been feeding humanity for more than one hundred years. However, current ammonia 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 producti...
Article
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Providing affordable and nutritious food to a growing and increasingly affluent global population requires multifaceted approaches to target supply and demand aspects. On the supply side, expanding irrigation is key to increase future food production, yet associated needs for storing water and implications of providing that water storage, remain un...
Article
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Irrigated agriculture accounts for ∼90% of anthropogenic freshwater consumption, is deployed on 22% of cultivated land, and provides 40% of global food production. Expanding irrigation onto currently underperforming rainfed croplands is crucial to meet future global food demand without further agricultural expansion and associated encroachment of n...
Article
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Low-carbon hydrogen is an essential element in the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050. Hydrogen production from biomass is a promising bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) scheme that could produce low-carbon hydrogen and generate the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) envisioned to be required to offset hard-to-abate emissions. Here,...
Article
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The ongoing agrarian transition from small-holder farming to large-scale commercial agriculture is reshaping systems of production and human well-being in many regions. A fundamental part of this global transition is manifested in large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) by agribusinesses. Its energy implications, however, remain poorly understood. He...
Article
Water scarcity is a critical issue, expected to worsen with global warming. Tackling water scarcity requires strategies to both decrease water consumption and enhance water availability. One promising solution to mitigate water scarcity is wastewater reuse, which involves collecting, treating, and repurposing used water. By employing a water balanc...
Article
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Understanding the impacts of climate change on water resources is crucial for developing effective adaptation strategies. We quantify “water gaps”, or unsustainable water use – the shortfall where water demand exceeds supply, resulting in scarcity. We quantify baseline and future water gaps using a multi-model analysis that incorporates two plausib...
Article
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The availability of surface water in global drylands is essential for both human society and ecosystems. However, the long-term drivers of change in surface water storage, particularly those related to anthropogenic activities, remain unclear. Here we use multi-mission remote sensing data to construct monthly time series of water storage changes fr...
Article
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Climate change poses substantial challenges to agriculture and crop production, but the combined role of nitrogen and water inputs in adaptation has been largely overlooked. Here, by developing regression models using US county-level data (2008–2020), we demonstrate that integrated optimization of irrigation and nitrogen inputs represents the most...
Article
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Virtual water describes water embedded in the production of goods and offers meaningful insights about the complex interplay between water, trade and sustainability. In this Review, we examine the trends, major players, traded products and key drivers of virtual water trade (VWT). Roughly 20% of water used in global food production is traded virtua...
Article
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The US and Canada contribute to 11% (22 million tons (Mt) per year) of global ammonia production, with an additional 42 Mt of production capacity currently planned or under construction. The distinct decarbonization policies adopted by these two countries—namely production tax credits in the US and carbon taxes in Canada—lead to significantly diffe...
Article
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Decarbonization is crucial to combat climate change. However, some decarbonization strategies could profoundly impact the nitrogen cycle. In this Review, we explore the nitrogen requirements of five major decarbonization strategies to reveal the complex interconnections between the carbon and nitrogen cycles and identify opportunities to enhance th...
Article
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Hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonizing economies. Here, we quantify the costs and environmental impacts of possible large-scale hydrogen economies, using four prospective hydrogen demand scenarios for 2050 ranging from 111–614 megatonne H2 year⁻¹. Our findings confirm that renewable (solar photovoltaic and wind) electrolytic hydrogen produc...
Article
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Ukraine supplies a large proportion of grain and oilseeds to the world market and faces disruptions from the Russian invasion in 2022. Here we explore the combined effects of the invasion and climate change on Ukraine’s irrigation. In 2021, only 1.6% of Ukraine’s cropland was irrigated. Of this portion, 73% experienced substantial declines in irrig...
Article
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The current centralized configuration of the ammonia industry makes the production of nitrogen fertilizers susceptible to the volatility of fossil fuel prices and involves complex supply chains with long-distance transport costs. An alternative consists of on-site decentralized ammonia production using small modular technologies, such as electric H...
Article
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Hydropower and irrigation are essential for achieving human development objectives and for climate mitigation and adaptation. These sectors depend on the same grey infrastructure, such as dammed reservoirs, which has created negative socio-ecological externalities and sectoral conflicts in the past. Yet, future needs for infrastructure in both sect...
Article
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Meeting the anticipated 50% increase in global food demand by 2050 requires a crucial reassessment of agricultural practices, particularly in terms of nitrogen fertilizers inputs. This study analyzes the technical potential of nitrogen recovery from livestock manure and crop residues, bringing attention to the often-overlooked resource of digestate...
Article
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Irrigation is a land management practice with major environmental impacts. However, global energy consumption and carbon emissions resulting from irrigation remain unknown. We assess the worldwide energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with irrigation, while also measuring the potential energy and carbon reductions achievable through th...
Article
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Anaerobic digestion is a bioenergy technology that can play a vital role in achieving net-zero emissions by converting organic matter into biomethane and biogenic carbon dioxide. By implementing Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), carbon dioxide can be separated from biomethane, captured, and permanently stored, thus generating carbo...
Article
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Aerosols can affect photosynthesis through radiative perturbations such as scattering and absorbing solar radiation. This biophysical impact has been widely studied using field measurements, but the sign and magnitude at continental scales remain uncertain. Solar-induced fluorescence (SIF), emitted by chlorophyll, strongly correlates with photosynt...
Article
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The use of biomethane, produced through anaerobic digestion of organic waste, holds promise as an energy source for mitigating climate change. This study quantifies the technical potential of biomethane, considering neither socioeconomic nor political constraints, and then compares it to worldwide natural gas use and imports. Furthermore, it calcul...
Article
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Proposals for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 include scaling-up electrolytic hydrogen production, however, this poses technical, economic, and environmental challenges. One such challenge is for policymakers to ensure a sustainable future for the environment including freshwater and land resources while facilitating low-carbon hydrogen produc...
Article
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The chemical industry is responsible for about 5% of global CO 2 emissions and is key to achieving net-zero targets. Decarbonizing this industry, nevertheless, faces particular challenges given the widespread use of carbon-rich raw materials, the need for high-temperature heat, and the complex global value chains. Multiple technology routes are now...
Article
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Agriculture accounts for 12% of global annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (7.1 Gt CO2 equivalent), primarily through non-CO2 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...
Article
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Rain-fed agricultural systems, which solely depend on green water (i.e. soil moisture from rainfall), sustain ∼60% of global food production and are particularly vulnerable to vagaries in temperature and precipitation patterns, which are intensifying due to climate change. Here, using projections of crop water demand and green water availability un...
Preprint
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Scale up of electrolytic production of hydrogen has been proposed as key to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This poses technical, economic, and environmental challenges. One challenge concerns the use of wind and solar resources to power water electrolyzers for low-carbon hydrogen production, which results in additional demand for already sca...
Article
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Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solution necessary to achieve net-zero-carbon-emissions goals. While the BECCS potential from large industrial emitters has been quantified, the BECCS potential of small emitters, such as biogas facilities, has not been investigated. Moreover, most BECCS solutions r...
Article
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Sustainable irrigation expansion over water limited croplands is an important measure to enhance agricultural yields and increase the resilience of crop production to global warming. While existing global assessments of irrigation expansion mainly illustrate the biophysical potential for irrigation, socioeconomic factors such as weak governance or...
Article
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Although a wide body of scholarly research recognizes multiple kinds of values for water, water security assessments typically employ just some of them. In the present article, we integrate value scenarios into a planetary water security model to incorporate multiple water-related social values and illustrate trade-offs among them. Specifically, we...
Article
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Agriculture is fundamental to all three pillars of sustainability, environment, society, and economy. However, the definition of sustainable agriculture and the capacities to measure it remain elusive. Independent and transparent measurements of national sustainability are needed to gauge progress, encourage accountability, and inform policy. Here,...
Article
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Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is a Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technology that will likely be necessary to reach global net-zero carbon dioxide emission goals. In order to assess the European BECCS potential, we quantify at 1 km resolution the technical potential for biogenic CDR considering seven different BECCS configurations...
Preprint
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Irrigation expansion onto rainfed croplands is an important part of the portfolio of agricultural measures, contributing to a more resilient crop production while enhancing agricultural yields. Existing global assessments of irrigation illustrate the biophysical potential, but generally do not account for socioeconomic and environmental constraints...
Article
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A large number of prospective climate scenarios rely on Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies to limit global warming below 2°C. To date, however, a comprehensive understanding of the overall life-cycle environmental impacts of CDR technologies is missing. We present a critical review on conducted Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of a comprehensiv...
Article
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Significance Foreign investors have acquired vast tracts of land globally since the early 2000s, yet the food security implications of this phenomenon are poorly understood. The ability to close crop yield gaps through commercial agriculture must be weighed against local impacts on food access. We combine agricultural, remote sensing, and household...
Article
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Significance Climate change is expected to reshape the distribution of irrigated lands. Using climatic projections from three global climate models, we investigate global patterns of irrigation water demand and availability in 1.5 °C and 3 °C warmer climates. We find that in up to 35% of currently rain-fed croplands, irrigation could be expanded as...
Article
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Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is an important technology to reduce fossil CO2 emissions and remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Scenarios for CCS deployment consistent with global climate goals involve gigatonne-scale deployment of CCS within the next several decades. CCS technologies typically involve large water consumption during their ener...
Article
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Meeting the increasing global demand for agricultural products without depleting the limited resources of the planet is a major challenge that humanity is facing. Most studies on global food security do not make projections past the year 2050, just as climate change and increasing demand for food are expected to intensify. Moreover, past studies do...
Article
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Significance Water’s ability to generate value in irrigated agriculture remains poorly quantified at the global scale. The valuation of irrigation water is an important piece of information not only for agribusiness investors interested in the acquisition of land and water entitlements but also for farmers and rural communities that are negotiating...
Article
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Accurately assessing green and blue water requirements from croplands is fundamental to promote sustainable water management. In the last decade, global hydrological models have provided important insights into global patterns of water requirements for crop production. As important as these models are, they do not provide monthly crop-specific and...
Article
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[VIEW-ONLY OPEN ACCESS VERSION OF THE ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE AT https://rdcu.be/b3WCI] Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a strategy to mitigate climate change by limiting CO2 emissions from point sources such as coal-fired power plants (CFPPs). Although decision-makers are seeking to implement policies regarding CCS, the consequences of this techn...
Article
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Water scarcity raises major concerns on the sustainable future of humanity and the conservation of important ecosystem functions. To meet the increasing food demand without expanding cultivated areas, agriculture will likely need to introduce irrigation in croplands that are currently rain-fed but where enough water would be available for irrigatio...
Article
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Agriculture strongly relies on irrigation. While irrigated land accounts for roughly 20% of the global cultivated area, it contributes to about 40% of crop production. In the last few decades, the growing demand for agricultural commodities has translated into an increasing pressure on the global freshwater resources, often leading to their unsusta...
Article
Since the turn of the century, rubber plantations have been expanding their footprint across Southeast Asia in response to an increasing global demand for rubber products. Between 2000 and 2014, the area cultivated with rubber more than doubled. It is not clear how this major change in the agricultural landscape of Southeast Asia, the main area of...
Article
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Governments worldwide must invest in girls’ education, family planning, agriculture and security in this vulnerable region.
Article
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Recent studies have highlighted the reliance of global food production on unsustainable irrigation practices, which deplete freshwater stocks and environmental flows, and consequently impair aquatic ecosystems. Unsustainable irrigation is driven by domestic and international demand for agricultural products. Research on the environmental consequenc...
Chapter
Drylands may undergo relatively rapid changes in land cover, plant communities, erosion rates, and hydroclimatic conditions that result in losses of ecosystem services and livelihoods. These socio-environmental changes are often termed “desertification,” which literally means “transition to desert-like conditions.” Because deserts occur in differen...
Article
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The increasing global demand for farmland products is placing unprecedented pressure on the global agricultural system and its water resources. Many regions of the world, that are affected by a chronic water scarcity relative to their population, strongly depend on the import of agricultural commodities and associated embodied (or virtual) water. T...
Conference Paper
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Irrigation accounts for about 70% of the global freshwater withdrawals and 90% of consumptive water uses. With 40% of irrigation water consumption occurring in water scarce areas, there is a need to understand to what extent freshwater can be sustainably used in agriculture without compromising environmental flows or depleting groundwater stocks. T...
Article
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Water is a major factor limiting crop production in many regions around the world. Irrigation can greatly enhance crop yields, but the local availability and timing of freshwater resources constrains the ability of humanity to increase food production. Innovations in irrigation infrastructure have allowed humanity to utilize previously inaccessible...
Article
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Water availability is a major factor constraining humanity's ability to meet the future food and energy needs of a growing and increasingly affluent human population. Water plays an important role in the production of energy, including renewable energy sources and the extraction of unconventional fossil fuels that are expected to become important p...
Article
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Shale deposits are globally abundant and widespread. Extraction of shale oil and shale gas is generally performed through water‐intensive hydraulic fracturing. Despite recent work on its environmental impacts, it remains unclear where and to what extent shale resource extraction could compete with other water needs. Here we consider the global dist...
Article
The increasing global demand for natural rubber (100% increase in the last 15 years) is for most part met by Malaysia and Indonesia, and - to a lesser extent - other countries in South-East Asia and Africa. The consequent expansion of rubber plantation has often occurred at the expenses of agricultural land for staple crops, particularly in South-E...
Article
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Crude oil from oil sands will constitute a substantial share of future global oil demand. Oil sands deposits account for a third of globally proven oil reserves, underlie large natural forested areas, and have extraction methods requiring large volumes of freshwater. Yet little work has been done to quantify some of the main environmental impacts o...

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