The author of the first text book on carbon capture looks at the potential for negative emissions technologies to limit global warming, and discusses the challenge to scaling solutions for positive climate impact.
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Negative emissions technologies are a key part of the strategy to keep global warming within the 2 degree Celsius limit set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. In fact, its projected that we’ll need to remove dramatic quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year to keep within the Paris goal. Yet today negative emissions hardly exists in any practical sense, and major barriers to growth lie ahead in the form of high costs, environmental impacts and political support.

Jennifer Wilcox, professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and author of the very first text book on carbon capture, talks about the challenge of scaling negative emissions technologies to the point at which they can meaningfully limit carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere. Along the way, she looks at how the challenge of scaling negative emissions recalls early barriers to growing the wind and solar industries, and at recent efforts to speed the deployment of negative emissions technologies including direct air capture.

Jennifer Wilcox is professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She is a member of committees at the National Academies of Sciences and the American Physical Society charged with assessing carbon capture methods, their costs, and their climate impacts.

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Exploring a Tool to Curb Climate Change: Direct Air Capture https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/02/19/exploring-tool-curb-climate-change-direct-air-capture 

What’s Behind Poland’s Opposition to EU Climate Neutrality Agreement https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2019/12/13/whats-behind-polands-opposition-eu-climate-neutrality-agreement 

Robust Carbon Markets: Rethinking Quantities and Prices in Carbon Pricing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/robust-carbon-markets

Preparing PGW for a Low-Carbon Future https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/preparing-pgw-low-carbon-future

Betting on Climate Solutions https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/betting-climate-solutions

A Hard Look at Negative Emissions (Podcast) https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/hard-look-negative-emissions

The author of the first text book on carbon capture looks at the potential for negative emissions technologies to limit global warming, and discusses the challenge to scaling solutions for positive climate impact. --- Negative emissions technologies are a key part of the strategy to keep global warming within the 2 degree Celsius limit set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. In fact, its projected that we’ll need to remove dramatic quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year to keep within the Paris goal. Yet today negative emissions hardly exists in any practical sense, and major barriers to growth lie ahead in the form of high costs, environmental impacts and political support. Jennifer Wilcox, professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and author of the very first text book on carbon capture, talks about the challenge of scaling negative emissions technologies to the point at which they can meaningfully limit carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere. Along the way, she looks at how the challenge of scaling negative emissions recalls early barriers to growing the wind and solar industries, and at recent efforts to speed the deployment of negative emissions technologies including direct air capture. Jennifer Wilcox is professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She is a member of committees at the National Academies of Sciences and the American Physical Society charged with assessing carbon capture methods, their costs, and their climate impacts. Related Content  Exploring a Tool to Curb Climate Change: Direct Air Capture https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2020/02/19/exploring-tool-curb-climate-change-direct-air-capture  What’s Behind Poland’s Opposition to EU Climate Neutrality Agreement https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/blog/2019/12/13/whats-behind-polands-opposition-eu-climate-neutrality-agreement  Robust Carbon Markets: Rethinking Quantities and Prices in Carbon Pricing https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests/robust-carbon-markets Preparing PGW for a Low-Carbon Future https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/preparing-pgw-low-carbon-future Betting on Climate Solutions https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/paper/betting-climate-solutions A Hard Look at Negative Emissions (Podcast) https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now/hard-look-negative-emissions

Energy Policy Now offers clear talk on the policy issues that define our relationship to energy and its impact on society and the environment. The series is produced by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania and hosted by energy journalist Andy Stone. Join Andy in conversation with leaders from industry, government, and academia as they shed light on today's pressing energy policy debates.

Energy Policy Now

Energy Policy Now offers clear talk on the policy issues that define our relationship to energy and its impact on society and the environment. The series is produced by <a href="https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/">the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy</a> at the University of Pennsylvania and hosted by energy journalist Andy Stone. Join Andy in conversation with leaders from industry, government, and academia as they shed light on today's pressing energy policy debates.

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