Let's first ask whether carbon removal tech is foreseeably able to work at the scale of the problem. That means answering who will finance it, how a build-out at industrial scale would work, but also the opportunity cost of pouring tax money into it. Billions might be more directly and effectively spent to help industries or people to electrify. Startups and industry will happily take public money (and “other people’s money”) until that dries up. At present the only financially viable CCUS are oil industry projects which re-use CO2 for ‘enhanced oil recovery’ = to produce and burn more oil. The biggest sequestering hopes are perhaps with biochar and soil use solutions because these have tangible co-benefits unlike super expensive direct air capture gadgets.
Let's first ask whether carbon removal tech is foreseeably able to work at the scale of the problem. That means answering who will finance it, how a build-out at industrial scale would work, but also the opportunity cost of pouring tax money into it. Billions might be more directly and effectively spent to help industries or people to electrify. Startups and industry will happily take public money (and “other people’s money”) until that dries up. At present the only financially viable CCUS are oil industry projects which re-use CO2 for ‘enhanced oil recovery’ = to produce and burn more oil. The biggest sequestering hopes are perhaps with biochar and soil use solutions because these have tangible co-benefits unlike super expensive direct air capture gadgets.