Nations’ current climate commitments are not enough to meet the trajectories needed to maintain global warming below the limit of 1.5 ºC that we have marked. The solution to the climate crisis It is no longer just about stopping broadcasting greenhouse gasesbut requires direct action to literally collect them from the atmosphere and store them in some way.
A warning. As he warns the third edition of the report State of Carbon Dioxide Removalhumanity would need to expand technology to eliminate CO₂ at a rate comparable to, or even greater than, the expansion of solar energy and electric vehicles.
The biggest audit. This report is truly important as it is the first global, independent and accessible scientific assessment of how carbon dioxide is being removed. This edition has been prepared by an interdisciplinary team composed by more than 50 scientists from highly prestigious institutions, including the University of Oxford and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
To ensure transparency, this assessment includes an open data portal detailing performance indicators. CDR and allows you to monitor where, how and how much CO₂ is actually being eliminated around the world.
Where are we? Although we are already working to eliminate carbon dioxide from our atmosphere, the figures indicate that we are very far from the goal that would allow us to breathe a little easier. To be clear about the numbers, global CO₂ removal levels are around 2.2 gigatonnes per year.
And although it seems like a gigantic figure, the reality is that 99.9% of this elimination is carried out through conventional methods. This fits with the histories compiled in the 2024 edition led by the University of Oxfordwhich already indicated that the world removed about 2,000 million tons per year, depending almost exclusively on reforestation and land management.
The objective. In order to meet the 1.5 °C objective that we have set for ourselves as a society, it is essential to multiply our capacity, since it points to the need to eliminate 5 gigatonnes of CO₂ by the year 2050. And for this, the strategies that different governments are following are not designed to even come close to this figure.
Technology. Achieving this massive expansion will require a true technological revolution. Methods evaluated for their potential and costs include bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, direct air capture, and advanced afforestation techniques. In addition to large-scale implementation, science continues to look for cutting-edge solutions and, in Spain, for example, CSIC research centers They study novel methods such as the photoactivation of CO₂ using titanium dioxide and copper clusters.
The experts. Here Science Media Center has collected the impression of different critical voices, such as that of Raffaele Bernadello, researcher in the Climate Change group of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, who points out that “the need to actively capture CO₂ is becoming increasingly evident as a complementary measure to the rapid and marked reduction in emissions”
On the other hand, Ana Hernández, biodiversity and natural resources planner at the Climate Research Foundation, also points out that “temporarily exceeding the 1.5 °C threshold is practically inevitable, given that the remaining carbon budget will be exhausted around 2030.”
Images | Chris LeBoutillier
In Xataka | The easiest way to understand global warming, in this climate map with data from 1940
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