[Jeon Seungmin's Science World] Hope in the Era of Climate Change: 'Carbon Capture' Technology

[Asia Economy] The cause of the heavy rain that swept through the central region was a ‘stationary front.’ This phenomenon, usually seen only during the monsoon season, occurred unusually in August, and with great intensity. Abnormal weather patterns are a global phenomenon. In July, it rained instead of snow at the King Sejong Station in Antarctica. Since the seasons are opposite in Antarctica, this happened in the middle of winter, when it should have been the coldest, and the sea temperature soared above zero degrees Celsius.

The cause of these phenomena is undoubtedly ‘global warming.’ In 2021, the total global carbon dioxide emissions amounted to 36.4 billion tons. An enormous amount of carbon dioxide is spreading into the atmosphere. There is practically no realistic alternative to control this.

Is there no solution? Some scientists have begun to think, ‘If emissions cannot be stopped, then special devices can be used to capture and retrieve them.’ This technology is called CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage). The primary target of CCUS is industrial sites, which account for 50-60% of global carbon dioxide emissions. There are also DAC (Direct Air Capture) facilities already in operation. Currently, about 15 projects worldwide are running, reducing approximately 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. If this number continues to increase, it could become an effective way to respond to global warming.

There are various movements toward carbon neutrality, such as expanding greenhouse gas emissions trading systems and imposing carbon taxes. However, CCUS-related policies have been relatively neglected. In 2020, the International Energy Agency forecasted that ‘it would be impossible to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions without CCUS technology.’ While the best option is not to produce waste, places that are already polluted must be cleaned to restore cleanliness. This simple logic should also apply when managing the atmosphere.

Jeon Seung-min, Science and Technology Writer

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.