Caught Up; Let’s Talk Carbon Capture and Utilization
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that many regions will experience regional changes of extreme warming as the planet goes over 1.5˚C and as the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse emissions reaches over 350 ppm (parts per million).
Currently, greenhouse emissions in the atmosphere have reached over 412 ppm, a terrifyingly large amount of CO2. Global carbon emissions are still gradually increasing despite the current sustainability measures implemented so far and it is clear that these efforts to help our plant are just not enough.
One underused tool in our fight against climate change is Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU). CCU captures CO2 from a direct source (Ex: a smokestack) or from the atmosphere using a CO2 capturing device and is then reused to create new materials and products.
You might have heard of something similar to this method such as Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS), which is capturing CO2 and storing it underground geoformations. The problem with this method is that there are no short-term economic benefits. There is little-incentive for companies to use this technique besides environmental compliance and regulations. But with carbon utilization, we are able to view carbon as a commodity and a recyclable material that thus links environmental and economic value. Here are a few types of CO2 capturing techniques.
CCU’s efficacy must however be viewed in a lifecycle manner — the recycling of carbon must not cost excess energy use and undermine the decarbonizing effects. CCU techniques that involve chemicals, fuels, and microalgae might reduce emissions of carbon dioxide but have limited potential for large scale removal, whereas outputs that involve construction materials can both utilize and remove carbon dioxide. Land-based pathways can also increase agricultural output and remove carbon dioxide.
So, what are carbon products that can change our daily lives? Here are some examples:
Although carbon utilization for consumers is still a few decades away from economic feasibility and scalability, the possibilities to change our planet and our very lives are endless. Currently there are companies who have built carbon capture technologies at large scale but are currently only focused on B2B. As more players dive into this industry, it will help accelerate a healthier economy. This is no silver bullet against climate change, but it is definitely one of the big opportunities we can employ to stop it.
Javin Chan, Fall Investment Intern
ResearchAndMarkets.com, one of the leading market research companies have reported that “the global carbon capture, utilization, and storage market size is expected to grow from USD 1.6 billion in 2020 to USD 2.5 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 17.0% during the forecast period.”
Developing carbon fiber that is economically feasible can be implemented on a wide scale of industries such as aerospace, sporting goods, wind turbine blades, and even automotive.
The Great Pivot: Creating Meaningful Work to Build a Sustainable Future by Justine Burt is a blueprint that details 30 different types of projects that can help create a green economy for our society.
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