![]() But even if we manage to reduce emissions, we will still be required to remove 100-200 Gigatons of CO2 in the next 30 years. If humanity wishes to see the next century, this has to change urgently, and we simply have to reduce the CO2 in our atmosphere.Ĭlimate change strategy is the proposed solution, and almost every model suggests that we sequester gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere. So what is the energy sector doing to address this? Despite further investment in renewable energy, fossil fuel usage is still increasing, and it’s expected that fossil fuels will remain the dominant form of energy by the end of this century. In turn, escalating temperatures will lead to severe weather and rising sea levels that will be irreversible for hundreds of years. These emissions will continue to increase too, further contributing to temperature change. It’s only in the last 200 years, since the invention of machines that pump out greenhouse gas emissions, that this figure has started escalating rapidly, and caused global temperatures to rise. Us human beings have been around for a ‘mere’ 300,000 years, but for most of that time, average CO2 levels have stood at about 280ppm. You have to go back a long way to the last time we reached these levels on Earth 2.6 million years in fact, when humans didn’t even exist yet. ![]() Recent figures indicate that we are at 419 parts per million CO2 – a figure that’s 0.4% up from last year, even in the context of reduced economic output from the recent pandemic. But it’s important we dive into the figures to assess the scale of the challenge.įirst things first, there’s CO2 levels. How big a challenge is presented by the task of removing CO2 from the atmosphere in accordance with climate targets? How far have we progressed to date? And what kinds of skills will meeting this challenge require? This article offers a few thoughts from Dr Richard George, Chief Data Scientist at Faethm AI, a software-as-a-service analytics firm with a focus on technology and skills.Ĭarbon capture is becoming big business. Image credit: Berkeley Lab, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license). ![]()
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