Our plans to tackle climate change with carbon storage don't add up

Modelling that shows how the world can remain below 1.5°C of warming assumes we can store vast amounts of carbon dioxide underground, but a new analysis reveals that achieving this is extremely unlikely.

Plans to tackle climate change by sucking carbon dioxide from the air and storing it underground are wildly unrealistic, according to a new analysis, calling into question our ability to meet climate goals.

Humanity has now released so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that is impossible for the planet to remain below 1.5°C or 2°C of warming above pre-industrial levels simply by halting emissions. Instead, most climate models that stay below these temperatures assume we will have to actively remove CO₂ from…