10 bl metric tonnes of carbon dioxide should be sucked from atmosphere by 2050, says new study

Heat-waves
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As per a new report put forward by the National Academy of Sciences on Wednesday, climate change is worsening in all nooks of the globe despite advancements in modern technology. It claimed by the mid-century, the world should be compelled to remove more than 10 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year, which is almost the equivalent of twice the yearly emissions of the US.

Steve Pacala, Princeton University biologist and chair of the National Academy of Sciences urge experts to figure out ways by which heat-trapping gases can be removed from the atmosphere. Steve argued that advanced ways to suck these heat-trapping gases from the atmosphere will make the job of tackling climate change much easier.

"It causes one to think differently about the climate problem when you have a backstop. And the ultimate temperature we have to suffer through is going to be lower," Said Steve Pacala, usnews.com reports.

Even though most of the weather experts suggest planting trees and conserve coastal plants as the most feasible solution to combat global warming, experts believe that new technologies should be adopted to remove rising heat-trapping gases from the atmosphere.

Direct air capture is a relatively new technology that may help to remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The technology involves giant fans that pull in air, which later sucks the carbon out using a chemical reaction, finally injecting it in underground.

Pacala said that the direct air capture technology which is being used by Climeworks and others is mostly limited by cost.

A few weeks back, a climate change report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has urged people to eat less meat so that the carbon dioxide emission to the atmosphere will be reduced drastically. Apart from reducing meat production, the report also pointed out the necessity of using electric cars and extensive planting of forests to reduce the atmospheric temperature.

This article was first published on October 25, 2018
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