Affordable direct air capture could shape long-term climate mitigation options. Point source emissions may be the first to be addressed, but the climate change problem is not resolved until the carbon dioxide from the transportation sector is also dealt with. Conflating air capture with a carbon dioxide consuming application like the environmentally questionable EOR should not end up blocking future use of direct air capture for carbon management. To avoid such a fate, it is important that air capture developers are extremely careful when claiming carbon benefits for their early commercial applications.
Yes, We Can Afford to Remove Carbon from Air
Recently, the American Physical Society (APS) released a report on the direct capture of carbon dioxide from air. The report concludes that air capture could be a powerful tool for mopping up carbon dioxide emissions that otherwise would escape to the air, for providing carbon dioxide for synthetic liquid fuels in the transportation sector, and [...]
