In the race to contain the climate emergency, governments worldwide are scrambling to cut carbon emissions. From encouraging people to walk instead of drive, to planting millions of trees, the aim is to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
But some are planning to put them - yes, the actual CO2 emissions - into the ground, using a form of technology called Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). This allows us to trap up to 90 per cent of the CO2 that would normally enter the atmosphere, under our feet.
How does it work?
Capturing carbon and storing it is a complicated process, but promises massive pay-offs in the long run. So what does the process involve?
The Enigmatic ‘Climate Chancellor’ Pulls Off a Grand Finale
A new EU climate target cements Angela Merkel’s global legacy, but many in Germany say she has often been an obstacle to progress.
December 31, 2020
German Chancellor Angela Merkel throws her voting card into the ballot box during passage of sweeping climate legislation in December 2019. Credit: Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images
Related
Power Switch: Last in a series about the German energy transition.
Inside a council building on Brussels’ Rue de la Loi, a landmark climate deal was hanging in the balance. Angela Merkel was in her element.
It was past midnight, the negotiations extended into the early hours of Dec. 11. By the time the sun rose, Merkel and the other European Union leaders emerged to say they had an agreement to cut carbon dioxide emissions in their countries 55 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.
The European Union has not yet won over countries seeking more cash and conditions in exchange for committing to sharper emissions cuts, as it tries to strike a deal on on its new climate target by the end of the year.
Environmental News For The Week Ending 20December 2019
This is a collection of interesting news articles about the environment and related topics published last week. This is usually a Tuesday evening regular post at
GEI (but can be posted at other times).
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Note: Because of the high volume of news regarding the coronavirus outbreak, that news has been published separately:
Some of the COVID-19 graphics presented in the above articles have been updated below.
Also, mentioned in two articles near the end of the disease collection is that there is a new strain of the virus circulating in southeast England that is 70% more infectious than the common strain. Since these news collections were assembled, England has locked down London and several European countries have restricted travelers from the country. I expect that we ll have more news on that in this coming week.
3 Min Read
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has not yet won over countries seeking more cash and conditions in exchange for committing to sharper emissions cuts, as it tries to strike a deal on on its new climate target by the end of the year.
Slideshow ( 2 images )
The EU has promised to make a tougher emissions-cutting target this year under the Paris climate accord, a move U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said is “essential” to global efforts to avoid catastrophic climate change.
The aim is for leaders of the 27-nation EU, which is the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, to endorse the new goal at a summit on Dec. 10-11.