The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[hptaxis]

What they don’t tell you about climate change

The Economist has an editorial on negative emissions technologies, pointing out that "the Paris agreement assumes, in effect, that the world will find ways to suck CO2 out of the air", yet there is "barely any public discussion of how to bring about the extra 'negative emissions' needed." "Unless that changes, the promise of limiting the harm of climate change is almost certain to be broken," the article argues. https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21731397-stopping-flow-carbon-dioxide-atmosphere-not-enough-it-has-be-sucked-out

"The total amount of CO2 to be soaked up by 2100 could be a staggering 810bn tonnes, as much as the world’s economy produces in 20 years at today’s rate." "Putting in place carbon-removal schemes of this magnitude would be an epic endeavour even if tried-and-tested techniques existed," it says. "They do not."

The editorial sits alongside a briefing article that delves into the details of negative emissions and the technologies that exist today. https://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21731386-cutting-emissions-will-not-be-enough-keep-global-warming-check-greenhouse-gases-must-be