A race against time and against ourselves. Against the dangerous idea that we can’t do this, that there is no way.
Unlike most races, it won’t have one winner. In this race we all win, or we all lose. Winning it requires a radical, unprecedented level of collaboration, from all corners of our world. From our cities, businesses, regions and investors. From people everywhere.
Together we’re racing for a better world. A zero carbon and resilient world. A healthier, safer, fairer world. A world of wellbeing, abundance and joy, where the air is fresher, our jobs are well-paid and dignified, and our future is clear.
To get there we need to run fast, and get faster. We need more and more people to join the race, and right now. This is not about 2050, it’s about today.
Together, we can do this. And we’re already on our way.
Companies are sucking carbon from the atmosphere using ‘direct air capture’. How does it work?
By Victoria Masterson | April 25, 2022
Direct air capture involves removing CO2 from the air and storing or reusing it.
The world’s first large-scale plant is being built in the United States.
Companies such as Microsoft, Shopify and Swiss Re are buying into direct air capture to offset their emissions.
But a massive scale-up in facilities is needed to help the world reach net zero by 2050, says the International Energy Agency.
The world’s journey towards net zero emissions is taking us down many new roads when it comes to technology. Electric vehicles and renewable energy are among those helping us to stop emitting carbon, but direct air capture takes another approach – sucking CO2 we emit back out of the atmosphere.
Direct air capture could be a solution for combatting carbon emissions that are hard to avoid – like those from certain industries – and for removing carbon that has been emitted over past decades.
Here’s a quick explainer.
What is direct air capture?
Direct air capture – DAC for short – involves capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air. The CO2 can then be permanently stored, meaning that it stops contributing to global warming.
A direct air capture plant in Iceland is capturing 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and storing it in basalt, a type of volcanic rock. The CO2 then mineralizes over around 20 years, turning into stone in a natural reaction with the rock.
The captured CO2 can also be reused in other industries. In food processing, it can be used to carbonate drinks. And in aviation, it is being combined with hydrogen to create synthetic low-carbon fuel.
The amount of direct air capture capacity in the world is rising fast, but it needs to rise even faster to help the world reach net zero emissions. Image: IEA
Two technologies are used in direct air capture – liquid and solid DAC. Liquid DAC involves passing air through a chemical solution to remove any carbon dioxide. In solid DAC, the CO2 is captured in a filter system.
New plants are also being built. The world’s first large-scale plant is in development in the US. It will be able to capture up to 1 million tonnes of CO2 a year and is expected to be operating by the mid-2020s.
Big companies such as technology firm Microsoft, e-commerce company Shopify and reinsurance firm Swiss Re are starting to invest in DAC removal as a way to offset their carbon emissions.
What is DAC’s potential?
To help the world reach net zero emissions by 2050, direct air capture technologies need to be capturing more than 85 million tonnes of CO2 in 2030, and then 980 million tonnes in 2050, the IEA estimates.
The IEA has put numbers on where direct air capture needs to be. Image: IEA
However, this means a “large and accelerated scale-up” is needed, as DAC plants currently only capture around 10,000 tonnes of CO2, the IEA says.
The good news is that momentum is building. Governments have committed almost $4 billion to develop and deploy DAC plants since the start of 2020, according to the IEA. Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom are among the countries investing in DAC research and development.
Both are World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers – early-stage and growing companies from around the world who are leading the way on new technologies and innovations.
Switzerland-based Climeworks opened its first DAC plant in 2017 and now has 15 machines in operation. It runs the Iceland plant mentioned above – currently the world’s biggest – and employs a form of solid direct air capture using filters.
Climeworks is helping companies including jewellery brand Swarovski and online grocer Ocado to reduce, offset and remove CO2 emissions.
Across the two weeks, non-State actors offered a wide range of actions, announcements, and events across thematic areas. This included the launch of the African Cities Water Adaptation Fund, an African-led insurance commitment to provide cover for up to USD 14 billion in climate losses, and the Sharm-El-Sheik Adaptation Agenda in partnership with the COP27 Presidency.
The new Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI), which was inaugurated today at CO27, aims to support the growth of carbon credit production and create jobs in Africa.
Africa can lead the world in limiting emissions, drive climate restoration and orient Africa towards its strengths which translate into major new segments of economic opportunity, writes Jack Kimani, Founding CEO of the Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A).