Wednesday 23 February 2022

‘Most carbon capture schemes increase emissions’

Carbon capture has been touted as an answer to cutting down carbon emissions and mitigating climate change – but is it all it seems?

According to research from Radboud University, most carbon capture methods do not align with the goals of the Paris Agreement and can actually lead to an increase in emissions.

Many carbon capture technologies take the captured carbon and use it to produce chemicals, however lead author of the study Kiane De Kleijne said: “The involved chemical processes also use energy and that captured carbon is often emitted soon after it has been used in a product.”

The study concludes that some technologies simply don’t reduce emissions enough to meet the Paris Agreement aims and others that could won’t be ready for the market in time.

Due to the process it can take to use the captured carbon in other industries or manufacturing, much of the accessible technologies on the market can actually increase emission output.

De Kleijne continued: “The idea here is that you produce products with reused carbon instead of using virgin materials, which may result in a net reduction of emissions.

“Money is still being spent on carbon capture methods that will come too late or inherently will not be able to reduce emissions enough to contribute to the Paris goals.”