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    Carbon capture more costly than switching to renewables, researchers find
    Futurology

    Carbon capture more costly than switching to renewables, researchers find

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    11 Comments

    1. nimicdoareu on

      For most countries around the world, sourcing energy entirely from wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower by 2050 would reduce their energy needs and costs, improve air quality, and help slow climate change, according to a [study](https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.4c10686) in Environmental Science & Technology.

      These benefits, the authors say, could be realized at a fraction of the cost of implementing technologies that remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and capture it from stationary emitters like industrial smokestacks.

    2. behindmyscreen_again on

      We’re at a point we probably have to do carbon extraction from the atmosphere anyway

    4. idisagreeurwrong on

      True, but it isn’t usually a government or singular body in charge of making these choices. The wind power company wants to sell windfarms, the oil company wants to sell oil and the carbon capture company wants to sell carbon capture facilities. Like in Canada the oil companies are trying to make net zero by doing carbon capture. They aren’t going to switch to wind or solar, it isn’t their business.

    5. KidKilobyte on

      Yes, but deploying token amounts of carbon capture lets us keep using carbon energy sources and pretend we care about the environment!

    6. lesterburnhamm66 on

      When I see these types of “researchers find”, I always wonder about how technologies are not stagnant, for the most part they improve. So, renewables will improve along with carbon capture.

    7. salacious_sonogram on

      Very clear. The easiest solution is secret emissions and encouraging natural carbon capture systems.

    8. Happytobutwont on

      So just to educate myself here. Carbon capture removes carbon dioxide from our atmosphere that is already there. Renewables only reduce new pollution? And if so how do you really compare the two

    10. Rindal_Cerelli on

      Very useful tool to have and the technology is pretty new.

      It would basically allow us to control the climate pretty accurately if we scale it up large enough.