Humans Need To Remove Four Times Carbon Dioxide In The Atmosphere BY 2050 To Counter Global Warming, Study Says

(Photo : Getty Images/Jack Taylor)

By 2050, humans must remove four times as much carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere to keep global warming below the two degrees Celsius threshold.

In a significant study, researchers cautioned that it remains unclear whether we can ramp up new technology for removing CO2 from the atmosphere quickly enough. These technologies, which account for 99% of present carbon removal, could claim land required to grow food and biofuels.

7 To 9 Billion Tonnes Of CO2

Taking into account several scenarios for reducing emissions, the University of Oxford's second assessment on the matter states that, by 2050, seven to nine billion metric tons of CO2 need to be removed from the atmosphere.

Compared to the 40 billion metric tons that will be emitted globally in 2023, two billion metric tons of carbon dioxide are being removed, mostly through reforestation, according to the first edition of The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal.

More than 50 researchers stated that in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, "removing CO2 from the atmosphere is also necessary, along with rapidly reducing emissions," which continues to be the "most important mitigation strategy."

Some of the scientists are also affiliated with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which acknowledges the necessity of carbon capture but has allowed it only a limited role in their scenarios for reaching "carbon neutrality."

According to the paper, there has been a noticeable surge in research, public awareness, and start-up enterprises focused on the elimination of CO2.

The paper claims that corporate demand for carbon credits, a contentious instrument that enables businesses to offset their emissions by funding carbon-reduction initiatives, has been driving growth in the carbon capture sector.

Among those to profit from the demand is the Swiss carbon capture start-up Climeworks, which operates a big subterranean carbon storage plant in Iceland.

Currently, 10,000 tons of CO2 are captured and stored annually by its two plants, thanks to funding from individual donors and the sale of carbon credits.

Climeworks and other start-ups have stated that they will require several billion euros (dollars) to achieve a million metric tons. But the study has cautioned that finance of this kind is quite questionable at this point.

As of right now, only one country-the United States-has made public a $3.5 billion strategy devoted to carbon capture.

Concerning Trend

The Center for Environmental Law (CIEL) stressed that the paper highlights a concerning trend where carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is increasingly being touted as a solution to climate change.

"This focus on carbon removal technologies represents a dangerous distraction from what is urgently needed to tackle the climate crisis: a full, fast, fair, and funded phase-out of all fossil fuels," said CIEL expert Lili Fuhr.

Less than 0.1% of the CO2 that is currently removed from the atmosphere can still be removed through innovative technologies that store carbon underground or in recycled materials, as well as through natural processes like planting forests.

The conversion of biomass into biocharcoal, direct air capture with carbon storage (DACCS), capture after burning of biomass (BECCS), and the sprinkling of crushed carbon-absorbing rocks on land or in the sea are examples of technological removal methods.

According to CIEL, DACCS is one of these strategies that "poses immense risks to ecosystems and communities."

The researchers have acknowledged the risk, saying that some "methods have high environmental and ecosystem risks, while others have the potential to generate co-benefits." It was stated that biodiversity and food security may be in danger with conventional carbon dioxide removal if poorly executed.

The research stated that while carbon capture technology development should proceed quickly, measures to lower emissions should not be neglected.