The life-or-death race to improve carbon capture
Carbon capture technology could help overcome some of the bigger problems associated with global warming, climate change and pollution. But the current capabilities of engineering and chemistry to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere must be significantly scaled up to avoid environmental calamity. Klaus Lackner director of ASU’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions, says the transition can’t be made without industries reducing the carbon dioxide they put into the air, which means a lot less burning of fossil fuels. Accomplishing that will require not only take technological advances, but international governance and economic solutions, Lackner says. Other experts add that defenses against bigger problems arising from the abundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere won’t be avoided without major action in the next decade.