Open to Debate

Is Carbon Capture Essential to Fighting Climate Change?


Listen Later

When it comes to carbon dioxide, last year was a record year. The world emitted more of the climate-warming gas in 2022 than in any year since scientists began recording levels in 1900. The culprit, says the International Energy Agency, is society’s voracious appetite for fossil fuels, and the need to burn them. So … what can be done to prevent dangerous levels of warming? One potential method is called carbon capture and storage, a technology in which CO2 is extracted and stored in underground facilities. In fact, as recently as February, Exxon Mobil announced that it will use Honeywell technology in Texas to capture some seven million tons of carbon dioxide per year. Other companies, meanwhile, have followed suit. But it is not without controversy. Critics say the technology is not cost effective, is unreliable in large scales, and that the level of carbon removal needed to help the planet is well beyond current capacity. As such, they say, it is a dangerous distraction in the broader fight against climate change, potentially diluting the urgency in reducing emissions. Others say these systems are ever more adept at capturing gases from the air, and that they have the potential to become a critical tool in the battle against rising emissions. It is in this context that we debate the following question: Is Carbon Capture Essential to Fighting Climate Change? 


Arguing “YES” is Katherine Romanak, Research Scientist, Bureau of Economic Geology   

Arguing is “NO”: Mark Zachary Jacobson, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, Director of its Atmosphere/Energy Program & Co-founder of The Solutions Project 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Open to DebateBy Open to Debate

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

2,090 ratings


More shows like Open to Debate

View all
Left, Right & Center by KCRW

Left, Right & Center

5,039 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,166 Listeners

EconTalk by Russ Roberts

EconTalk

4,238 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,845 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,299 Listeners

The Glenn Show by Glenn Loury

The Glenn Show

2,260 Listeners

Intelligence Squared by Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squared

786 Listeners

Making Sense with Sam Harris by Sam Harris

Making Sense with Sam Harris

26,469 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,706 Listeners

The Good Fight by Yascha Mounk

The Good Fight

895 Listeners

The Michael Shermer Show by Michael Shermer

The Michael Shermer Show

918 Listeners

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

6,880 Listeners

The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie by The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

726 Listeners

The Munk Debates Podcast by Munk Foundation / iHeartRadio

The Munk Debates Podcast

44 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,335 Listeners