6 Things to Know About Direct Air Capture

People around the globe are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change through more severe storms, extreme heat, wildfires and flooding. This underscores the urgent need to slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as by switching to electric vehicles, deploying renewable power and reducing deforestation. At the same time, the most authoritative climate science indicates that such efforts alone will not be enough to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

While reducing GHG emissions should always take priority, meeting global climate goals will also require carbon dioxide removal (CDR) — systems that remove carbon directly from the air. Carbon removal is needed not only to balance out residual emissions that cannot be or are not eliminated in the coming years, but also to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to safe levels. Carbon removal can take numerous forms, including natural solutions (like growing trees) and technological solutions that accelerate or mimic natural carbon removal processes.

Direct air capture (DAC) with sequestration is one carbon removal method that is already being developed, and in some cases deployed, today. DAC is theoretically highly scalable and can be coupled with permanent CO2 storage. It's also relatively easy to quantify the amount of CO2 captured. Thanks to this, DAC is already seeing significant interest and investment — though how rapidly it can scale remains uncertain.

Here we answer some key questions about DAC and its future potential.