Enough global carbon storage potential to meet - 2°C by 2100' temperature target: Study

Amid the efforts to capture and store carbon dioxide underground, the world is on target to prevent global temperature from rising above 3.6F (as part of the effort to keep global warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100), scientists claimed. Researchers at Imperial College London found that 2,700 Gigatonnes of CO2 storage space is required to achieve the goal set at the Paris Climate Agreement. 

In order to keep global temperatures from rising, efforts to store CO2 in underground reservoirs need to be done alongside other measures such as switching to renewable energy.

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About Carbon capture storage

Carbon capture storage works by taking CO2 produced in factories and power plants and then storing it underground to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. According to industry experts, however, there is a capacity for storing more than 10,000 Gigatonnes of CO2 storage around the world, which is more than what is needed to meet the 3.6F target.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - a UN body of scientists and economists had set the goal in 2016 and assessed the impacts and future risks of climate change along with options for response and mitigation.

Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) is one measure to prevent global warming at dangerous levels, others include the use of cleaner energy and transport as well as increasing the efficiency of energy use. CCS involves trapping waste CO2 from emission sources such as factories and power plants and storing it underground to stop the greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere.

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8.6 percent increase in CCS capacity

Based on data on the past 20 years of growth in CCS, researchers found there has been an 8.6 percent increase in CCS capacity worldwide in this period. It shows that the world is on track to meet some of the targets aimed at the IPCC reports.

Study leader Dr Christopher Zahasky said that nearly all IPCC goals to limit global warming to 2C requires tens of gigatons of CO2 stored every year by mid-century.

“However, until now, we didn't know if these targets were achievable given historic data. We found that even the most ambitious scenarios are unlikely to need more than 2,700 Gt of CO2 storage resource globally, much less than the 10,000 Gt of storage resource that leading reports suggest is possible.

'Our study shows that if climate change targets are not met by 2100, it won't be for a lack of carbon capture and storage space,” he said

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(Image: AP File photo)