Mark Lyttleton is a business mentor and angel investor with stakes in more than 30 businesses. This article will look at SKOOT, evaluating the effectiveness of carbon removal technologies. The embedded PDF provides more information about the problem of carbon emissions.
Global carbon emissions are still on the rise, driving up temperatures and triggering a variety of extreme weather conditions, from floods to wildfires. One increasingly popular solution is carbon removal. As the name suggests, carbon removal involves removing carbon that has already entered the atmosphere through human activities like electricity production, which accounts for approximately 25% of total carbon emissions, and transportation, which produced circa 7.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2020 alone. The embedded infographic provides an outline of the main industries that contribute towards carbon dioxide pollution.
Carbon removal is achieved via two broad methods:
- Artificial
- Natural
Both are carried out with one main objective in mind: to ensure the global temperature rise does not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Natural carbon removal methods include tree planting. Known as carbon sinks, forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, absorbing up to 7.6 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Carbon sequestration occurs via photosynthesis, with trees absorbing carbon dioxide and storing it in their leaves, trunks and roots. Research suggests that the world’s forests have the potential to absorb approximately half of human-created excess carbon dioxide, making trees one of the most effective tools to eliminate the carbon dioxide overflow.
Ocean sinks are also extremely effective, with phytoplankton absorbing a similar amount of carbon as all of the trees and plants on land combined. Kelp forests in particular play an important role in ocean carbon sequestration. Kelp grows incredibly fast, absorbing carbon dioxide into its tissue.
Artificial methods of carbon removal include direct air capture, where carbon dioxide is chemically drawn out of the atmosphere before being injected into underground geological formations. Another artificial method is carbon mineralisation, where carbon is transformed into a solid mineral such as carbonate. You can learn more about carbon mineralisation by watching the embedded short video.
In terms of achieving net-zero, carbon offsets are crucial, providing businesses with more sustainable choices and enabling them to balance their carbon footprint.
About SKOOT
SKOOT was created with the mission of creating a carbon-free world, enabling as many people as possible to take climate action right now. The organisation helps consumers to identify their carbon footprint, providing quality climate solutions and enabling users to avoid carbon emissions.