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Review
. 2012 Aug 14;109(33):13156-62.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1108765109. Epub 2012 Jul 27.

The urgency of the development of CO2 capture from ambient air

Klaus S Lackner  1 , Sarah Brennan, Jürg M Matter, A-H Alissa Park, Allen Wright, Bob van der Zwaan
Affiliations
Review

The urgency of the development of CO2 capture from ambient air

Klaus S Lackner et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

CO(2) capture and storage (CCS) has the potential to develop into an important tool to address climate change. Given society's present reliance on fossil fuels, widespread adoption of CCS appears indispensable for meeting stringent climate targets. We argue that for conventional CCS to become a successful climate mitigation technology--which by necessity has to operate on a large scale--it may need to be complemented with air capture, removing CO(2) directly from the atmosphere. Air capture of CO(2) could act as insurance against CO(2) leaking from storage and furthermore may provide an option for dealing with emissions from mobile dispersed sources such as automobiles and airplanes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: K.S.L. and A.W. are shareholders in and consultants to Kilimanjaro Energy, a company that is commercializing air capture technology; K.S.L. is also on the company’s board.

References

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