Carbon capture tech exists. Scaling it up is the hard part
Europe just opened a carbon capture and storage plant billed as the continent's largest. But global climate scenarios call for far more capacity than exists anywhere on Earth.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has the potential to reduce the impact of fossil fuel emissions on climate change, but scaling it up to a global level remains a significant challenge. The United Nations estimates that between 350 and 1,200 gigatons of CO2 storage would be needed over the next century to avoid the worst effects of global warming.
CCS involves capturing CO2 at its source, compressing it, and storing it geologically in places like aquifers or old oil reservoirs. However, despite being studied since the 1960s, CCS is still in its infancy, with only 77 operational commercial plants currently in operation worldwide. These plants can only capture a fraction of the CO2 needed to meet ambitious climate targets.
The main obstacle to widespread adoption of CCS is the high cost of building new plants, which requires government subsidies and policy intervention. Critics argue that CCS may inadvertently prolong fossil fuel use and create a false sense of security, as it does not address the root cause of emissions. Nonetheless, researchers and environmentalists continue to advocate for the development and deployment of CCS technology as part of a comprehensive strategy to combat climate change.
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