World’s largest carbon dioxide sucking factory opens in Iceland - BBC News

The world’s largest factory to capture carbon dioxide from the air has begun operations in Iceland. Reducing the amount of CO₂ in the Earth’s atmosphere would help reduce the effects of climate change.

It showcases a developing technology considered by some to be an important tool in the fight against climate change but sceptics question how much impact it can really have.
Is it a futuristic vision of how to save the planet from runaway climate change, or a futile expense that distracts from the urgency of slashing co2 emissions?

According to the companies that constructed the plant, Climeworks and Carbfix, when operating at capacity the plant will draw 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the air every year.


#BBCNews #ClimateChange #CaptureCarbonDioxide

[CharlesVeitch]

Imagine if we had a carbon capturing tech that was free and grew out of the ground

[kissmyasthma]

Not just people, now trees are also losing their jobs in the face of technological advancement…

[commodoreNZ]

It speaks to the scientific literacy of who ever approved this piece that images of nuclear cooling towers, emitting nothing but water vapour, were used in the montage of pollution producers.

[attilavidacs]

This is like sucking up the entire ocean with a straw.

[TheArcknight]

I like how they show the cooling towers releasing steam like its smoke.

[simpleasliam]

What always entertains me is when they show "polluting" plants, when in reality this is steam, purely just water lol

[ivanalaskevich]

Showing the cooling tower of a nuclear power plant:
"Oooh, look what bad air they throw out here! Water vapor is poison! It must be destroyed!"

[ninth]

This is funny because Iceland has one of the lowest emission rates in the world

[ThatEnglishGent]

"There are much better technologies out there..."

Yes. Nuclear.

[briangarrow]

Why do video editors continue to use shots of cooling towers when discussing carbon dioxide emissions? At least be accurate and show clips of carbon dioxide emitters. You end up giving the public the impression that those wisps of vapor they see coming out of the tops of cooling towers is carbon dioxide. It is water vapor.
And for those of you who assume that I am ignorant about this subject, I spent the last 40 years building power plants and pollution control structures in every type of industrial plant from nuclear power plants to aluminum smelters.

[helioliskfire]

Trees and plants are the ultimate carbon capture machines. All fossil fuels locked under the ground were captured by plants at some point in the Earth's history.

[joao]

To everybody saying "just plant trees", well obviously they're essential but at the point we're now we'll need to artificially capture Co2 because the amount of it in the atmosphere it's ridiculous. Planting trees and discovering new carbon capture tech must happen for a cleaner future.

[RAMSHEADUK]

Looks like a very expensive alternative to a tree which actually has the benefit of also pumping out oxygen.

[bigdundee]

Isnt it more efficient to place them at exhaust chimneys from factories? Or the very least, major cities or industrial areas? Or even next to pinch points on busy highways?

[zarifhassan]

Q: What's the theme of this factory?
A: "It sucks!"

[mehp]

4000 TONNES when that plant is operating at capacity. You’d need literally over a MILLION of them to really make a difference in the carbon budget!

Edit: And I don’t believe this is a very scalable technology, this plant is using geothermal energy and of course it needs specific rock formations to sequester carbon in.

[davidmei]

Guys remember this technology is still at its infancy, just because it seems inefficient and there are better alternatives does no mean that it is not worth pursing. I believe that innovation is the key to solving the climate crisis, and if there is the slightest chance that this process can make a real impact on reducing the CO2 in the atmosphere, we owe it not only to ourselves but the future generations living on this planet to try.

[uplink-on-yt]

I always like skeptics, who say this is a pointless expensive exercise without providing better ideas.

[aarononeal]

If you're looking for a way to help the environment you can switch to ecosia they are a search engine that plants trees. Using ecosia will not solve climate change but it is a place to start .

[livinghere]

We already have things that do this called trees. They also attract and support life.