2015 AAAS Annual Meeting (12-16 February 2015)

February 12 - 16, 2015

Going Negative: Removing Carbon Dioxide From the Atmosphere

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions may not be enough to curb global warming according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The solution will also require carbon-negative technologies that actually remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by roughly 40 percent since before the industrial revolution, causing a 0.85 degree Celsius increase in global mean temperature. Currently, the energy sector is a major contributor to the increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. A growing global population and increased energy demand will cause an additional rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide unless we seek alternative energy resources. Renewables such as solar, wind, hydro, and bioenergy and direct emissions reductions technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) could help curb carbon dioxide emissions. To augment these, technologies exist that remove atmospheric carbon dioxide and can potentially keep it out of the atmosphere -- bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, direct air capture, and biochar. These technologies have benefits and downsides and vary drastically in predicted cost. This symposium seeks to discuss technologies, strategies, and research that could enable net negative reductions in atmospheric carbon dioxide.