Robbie Gonzalez
science
06.13.18
07:00 am
The Potential Pitfalls of Sucking Carbon From the Atmosphere
Carbon Engineering
Last week, Canadian company Carbon Engineering published research findings that show how carbon dioxide could be sucked up from the atmosphere for less than $100 per ton. In 2017, the world emitted some 32.5 gigatons of the stuff. But hey—baby steps.
Scientists have long speculated that so-called "negative emissions" technologies like CO2 removal could not only slow the accumulation of carbon in the air, but even reverse it. Before last week, though, all that speculation was, well, largely speculative; nobody had convincingly demonstrated how to pull off negative emissions at scale. Previous estimates had pegged the cost of sucking carbon from the skies, for instance, at $600 per ton—way too pricey to qualify as a viable cleanup solution. The findings from Carbon Engineering, which appear in the latest issue of the journal Joule, point the way toward a future in which negative emissions are not only technically possible but financially feasible.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-potential-pitfalls-of-sucking-carbon-from-the-atmosphere/
