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> We already know how to stop climate change (rapidly decrease our CO2 output) No we don't. Even if we stopped all emissions starting today, climate change wou
by sailingparrot 5y ago
> We already know how to stop climate change (rapidly decrease our CO2 output)
No we don't. Even if we stopped all emissions starting today, climate change would not be stopped, it's already too late for that.
Now, assuming the most ambitious but realistic reduction plan, we will still be emitting massive amounts of CO2 over the next few decades, so we are guaranteed to have to endure significant global warning.
And this is why we need both reduction and removal.
Reduction is the most efficient medium term solution by far, but long term we absolutely need removal as well.
I wish people would stop pitting reduction vs removal, wind vs solar vs nuclear etc. There isn't a single technology or policy that will save us, we need advances on all fronts and the solution will come from a mix of many different complimentary contributions.
However you are right that we need to be careful to not use the possibility of future carbon removal as an excuse to not reduce our GHG emissions.
- boplicity 5y ago> I wish people would stop pitting reduction vs removal, wind vs solar vs nuclear etc. There isn't a single technology or policy that will save us, we need advances on all fronts and the solution will come from a mix of many different complimentary contributions. Agreed. Twenty years ago, we had the luxury of being able to "pick and choose" the "right" path forward. Unfortunately, the wrong path was chosen, so we now have to do everything we can to mitigate the looming disaster. The cost of doing too little is just so very, very high. (And yet, doing too little seems to be exactly the path we're on.)