A pleasure to speak to @adamvaughan_uk @newscientist about the launch of @Climeworks new #Orca direct air carbon capture and storage facility - capable of removing 4000 tCO2/yr - in this week's Fix the Planet newsletter. A short 🧵 on my reaction...
https://twitter.com/Climeworks/status/1425728859916357632?s=20
We should absolutely welcome the Orca facility. Although still only small in the great scheme of things, it’s a significant step forward in showing to the world that DACCS *can* be scaled up, at least in a technical sense
But they will also have to demonstrate that it can be scaled up economically and socially, too. One of the longstanding criticisms of DACCS is that is that it’s very expensive, though there are hopes that costs could be brought down significantly in the longer term
And DACCS has so far had an ambiguous performance in the eyes of the public, being seen as contained, reversible and well understood, but at the same time as aesthetically intrusive and as an ‘end-of-pipe’ solution that doesn't get to the core of the problem - emissions
Orca shows that DACCS can be scaled up technically, but whether this can be done on the levels of CDR assumed by @IPCC_CH is another matter. But what’s important is that it shows the IPCC doesn’t need to rely on BECCS and forestation as the only modes of CDR in their scenarios
DACCS could be included too. And there are a whole range of other carbon removal approaches too: proponents and critics alike shouldn’t assume that all our carbon removal needs will be fulfilled by one or two approaches alone at a ridiculous scale (as is so often done)
You can read the Fix the Planet newsletter here👇
https://twitter.com/adamvaughan_uk/status/1435965298943807499?s=20
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