What will we do with all that carbon?

The history of carbon, an organic component found in the earth's crust, goes back to the very beginning of the earth and is closely connected with the history of mankind. As humans transitioned from hunting and gathering to permanent settlement, the release of CO2 into the atmosphere began to rise. However, the exponential increase did not occur until the 20th century. Before the 1950s, carbon dioxide levels never exceeded 300 ppm (parts per million). Since then it has increased above 420 ppm.

CO2 has been known since 1856, when physicist Eunice Foote discovered that CO2 exhibits the highest ability to retain heat. In 1859, John Tyndall described the relationship between the atmospheric concentration of CO2 and the average surface temperature of the Earth. He warned that halving existing CO2 would lead to an ice age, while doubling it would cause global warming of 5-6 degrees Celsius. In the 1960s, we realized that our planet was warming at a rate that our way of life could not handle if CO2 emissions continued in the same direction. This would make many areas uninhabitable, lack food and water, and endanger numerous lives. Since then, mankind has been trying to solve the problem. We agreed that we must significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to keep the global temperature rise below 2°C (with a target of 1.5°C) compared to the pre-industrial era, thereby mitigating the impact of climate change. However, it turned out not to be an easy task.

Before exploring ways to address carbon issues, it is important to understand the concept of weak and strong sustainability:

– Weak sustainability: Assumes that manufactured and natural capital can substitute for each other in the production of well-being. It does not attribute a unique value to natural capital beyond its ability to produce human well-being.

– Strong sustainability: Argues that manufactured and natural capital are distinct entities. Natural capital has its own value and cannot be replaced by manufactured capital, which is completely dependent on natural capital. Strong sustainability sees natural capital as irreplaceable.

Poor sustainability allows for solutions that shift the problem without fully solving it, which may involve environmental degradation in exchange for economic benefits.

Carbon offset:

– Compliance markets: These include global initiatives such as emissions trading schemes and carbon taxes.

– Voluntary markets: They are based on certification programs to generate carbon credits traded on the market.

Replaced by the Paris Agreement in 2020, the Kyoto Protocol focused on reducing emissions through carbon credits. Now the focus is on carbon capture (CCS) as a more sophisticated and efficient solution.

Modern carbon capture technologies:

1. Direct air capture: Chemical processes for extracting CO2 directly from the atmosphere.

2. Coastal Blue Carbon: Increases carbon storage in coastal ecosystems.

3. Terrestrial sequestration: Afforestation and changes in agricultural practices to increase soil carbon storage.

4. Bioenergy with CO2 capture: Uses plant biomass to produce energy while capturing emitted CO2.

5. Carbon mineralization: CO2 chemically binds with reactive minerals.

6. Geological sequestration: Captured CO2 is stored in geological formations.

Implementing carbon capture technology is essential, but we also need to promote strong sustainability, a circular economy and fundamentally change our approaches to addressing climate challenges in a sustainable way.

In conclusion, is carbon capture and storage (CCS) the answer to our carbon problem? It's definitely part of it. Implementation of carbon capture technology is essential to effectively "bending the curve" on CO2 levels, given that limiting our current emission levels will not be enough given the existing accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere.

However, learning from the shortcomings of previous approaches, in addition to capturing carbon, we must adopt the principles of strong sustainability, support the circular economy and fundamentally shift the existing paradigm. These steps are necessary to address the challenges posed by climate change in a coherent and sustainable manner. (Co2AI)