Study finds limits to storing CO₂ underground in the fight against climate change

Current international scenarios for limiting global warming to less than 1.5 degrees by the end of the century rely on technologies that remove carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) from the Earth's atmosphere faster than humans release it. This means removing CO ₂ at a rate of 1-30 gigatons per year by 2050.

However, estimates of the speed with which these technologies can be deployed have been highly speculative. Findings from a new study led by researchers at Imperial College London now show that existing projections are unlikely to be feasible at current growth rates.

The study found that up to 16 gigatons of CO2 could be stored by 2050 _under land annually. However, achieving this goal would require a huge increase in storage capacity and scaling in the coming decades, which is not expected given the current pace of investment, development and deployment. (Imperial College London, more at phys.org)