The researchers of the Institute Paul Scherrer PSI and ETH in Zurich have published a new study which investigates the extent to which direct capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air can help effectively remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The results were truly, truly impressive.
Some estimates suggest the possibility of capturing until 97% of greenhouse gas emissions.
A systematic review
Scientists studied a total of five different setups to capture CO2 from the air at eight different locations around the world: Chile, Greece, Jordan, Mexico, Spain, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
And now a fantastic truism: “the use of this technology only makes sense if its emissions are significantly lower than the amounts of CO2 it helps capture,” says Tom Terlouw, researcher at the Laboratory for the Analysis of Energy Systems at PSI and first author of the study.
The race to capture CO2 continues
The fact has been established that the "simple" and yet meritorious reforestation will not be enough, studies and projects to capture CO2 are starting to grow around the world. In June the world witnessed the opening of a new plant in Scotland that will remove up to one million tonnes of carbon from the air every year. This is the equivalent of 40 million trees per year.
In the past in several posts I also reported on the broad scientific debate on whether capturing and storing carbon is really feasible to mitigate climate change. The authors of the new report say yes, certainly also in this case it should be considered only as a complementary option.
