Scrubbing Carbon from the Sky

Can we remove enough CO2 from the atmosphere to slow or even reverse climate change?

Scientific American, 2019

5 min read

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The roadblocks to removing CO2 from the atmosphere are more human than technological.

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On the heels of record-breaking 2018 heat waves and forest fires across the world, the Global Carbon Project released an alarming set of statistics: Global carbon emissions are on the rise again. Other studies warn that the world will surpass the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit, which scientists consider the safe threshold for warming, within only a few years. Limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C this century will require drastic measures and will almost certainly involve the removal of carbon from the atmosphere. Science writer Richard Conniff describes some of the most promising ways of doing so. His detailed and matter-of-fact approach to potential solutions to a problem that makes people feel helpless ends on a positive note. Humans still have a chance to avert climate catastrophe if they put their minds and money to it. The article will be thought-provoking for anyone concerned with climate disaster and the best ways to avert it.

Summary

To prevent catastrophic climate change, the world needs to remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world will need to limit global warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius [2.7°F] to keep the world habitable for humans. If yearly CO₂ emissions continue at the current rate, there may only be about five years left until global average temperatures surpass the crucial 1.5°C threshold. Considering that global emissions continue to rise, substantial emissions cuts alone will no longer be sufficient.

The next climate challenge will be to achieve negative emissions – to withdraw more CO₂ from the atmosphere than is released. Jan C. Minx of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Germanyputs the amount of CO₂ to be removed atbetween 2 and 16 billion tons a year beginning in 2050, and even more toward the end of the century. By 2100, 150 billion to a trillion tons will need to be removed. A mix of measures, both low- and high-tech, will be needed to achieve such an ambitious goal.

Achieving negative emissions...

About the Author

Richard Conniff is an award-winning science writer. His books include The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth.

Richard Conniff