As we all learned in school, trees "breathe in" carbon dioxide and then release oxygen back out into the air. They are the planet's lungs. That's why - when done right - planting trees is so important for carbon capture. But exciting news today that reminds us that it's not just trees that can suck carbon dioxide directly out of the air...
Construction is due to begin today, June 29, on what could become the world’s biggest carbon-capture plant.
The carbon dioxide sucked from the air will be deposited underground in a bid to fight the ongoing climate disaster, the company behind the nascent green technology said.
Swiss start-up Climeworks AG said its second large-scale direct air capture (DAC) plant will be built in Iceland in 18-24 months.
Once completed, it will have the capacity to suck 36,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from the air.
That is a sliver of the 36 billion tonnes of energy-related CO2 emissions produced worldwide last year.
But it is a 10-fold increase from Climeworks’ existing DAC plant, currently the world’s largest, and a leap in scale for a technology that scientists this year said is ‘unavoidable’ if the world is to meet climate change goals.
Amazing technology - and something we probably need if, as the article says, the world is to meet its climate goals.
But taking carbon dioxide out of the air is only one small part of the climate change agenda. We need to be putting a lot less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in the first place!
How can small businesses help with that? By auditing and benchmarking their current emissions, and then working systematically to reduce them.
CarbonNow are here to help. Contact us today.