Germans are pushing for CO₂ removal

In order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, it is not enough to emit fewer greenhouse gases. According to experts, emissions reductions are too slow for that. In order to achieve the Paris climate target, leading climate researchers believe that large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) must also be removed from the air and stored safely.

“The 1.5 degree target can only be achieved globally if we accept that that we overshoot the target for several decades and then bend the temperature curve back again – and that is only possible if we are able to get net CO₂ out of the atmosphere,” said Ottmar Edenhofer, co-director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), on ARD. “That is the big task.”

Depending on the scenario, this will cost up to two percent of annual global economic output in 2050, according to a discussion paper by PIK and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). This financial outlay is urgently needed, otherwise the climate damage would become significantly more expensive.