Seth B. Darling, the Chief Science & Technology Officer for the Advanced Energy Technologies Directorate at Argonne National Laboratory, argues that in addition to decarbonizing the economy, we must also focus on carbon capture and carbon removal as essential strategies to deal with carbon emissions. While the focus is often on cutting carbon dioxide emissions, carbon capture and removal technologies are necessary to address the carbon sources that are still contributing to the climate crisis. Industries such as chemical manufacturing and steel production continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels, and global carbon levels are reaching record highs.
Global atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reached 421 parts per million in 2022, resulting in extreme weather events, droughts, floods, and wildfires. Carbon capture and removal technologies, such as storing carbon indefinitely or converting it to useful products, are essential for countering hard-to-decarbonize parts of the economy and mitigating the effects of climate change. Despite concerns that CCS projects may prolong the use of fossil fuels, these technologies are necessary to achieve net-zero emissions and address the time-sensitive need to reduce emissions by 28% by 2030.
Converting captured carbon into products is a promising idea, but it alone cannot effectively address the scale of carbon emissions. While some products can be made from captured carbon, the sheer mass of all products made by society exceeds the potential utilization of captured carbon. Therefore, carbon storage is crucial for permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere. The top priority remains decarbonizing the economy through renewable energy deployment and energy-efficient measures, while also incorporating carbon capture, removal, and storage technologies.
Transparent analyses of life cycle emissions and techno-economic impacts are important for making informed decisions about carbon capture and removal technologies that benefit the climate and make financial sense. Collaboration between the scientific community, industrial sectors, and technology executives is essential for bringing down costs and risks associated with carbon capture and storage. Research partnerships are already exploring ways to mitigate potential pitfalls such as induced seismicity. Ultimately, the cost of not addressing carbon emissions and the continued impact of the climate crisis is too high to ignore.
