Annual atmospheric CO2 removal of 2 billion tonnes

According to a Research released on last Thursday, almost two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide are being removed from the atmosphere for every year, where trees are the major contributors.

The University of Oxford-led study is the first complete look at global effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

To keep global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, it is projected that by 2050, nearly 1,300 times more carbon dioxide removal would be required from new technologies, and twice as much from trees and soils.

The removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is becoming more prioritised, according to University of Oxford climate scientist and study co-author Steve Smith. Nevertheless, he cautioned that “significant gaps in knowledge persist despite rising interest and funding”.

Fitzroy Falls

The process of removing CO2 from the atmosphere entails collecting the greenhouse gases and then storing it below the ground, in the ocean, in geological formations, or in manufactured goods for an extended period of time.

Planting trees and improving soil management account for almost all the accomplished CO2 reduction to date.

Approximately $4 billion has been invested in publicly sponsored research and development since 2010, with the bulk of that sum, going towards developing technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Barron Gorge

As of right now, no nations are aiming to employ CO2 removal to accomplish short-term climate objectives by 2030, but many do see it as part of their strategy for attaining net zero by 2050.

In addition to cutting emissions, which is still the number one priority for meeting the Paris target, “we also need to desperately develop and scale up CO2 removal, particularly those noble methods,” as reported by  co-author Jan Minx of Germany’s Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change.

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And, he said, “we are still at the very start,” so it would take some time.

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The United States Department of Energy set aside $3.7 billion in December 2017 to fund carbon dioxide removal initiatives. And by 2030, the EU countries hope to have annually captured five million tonnes of CO2.