When I was in elementary school, I drew a giant fan that I said would suck carbon dioxide out of the air and help solve climate change. Going past the obvious problems with this solution, I’ve always had a vested interest in direct answers to air pollution like this, and I recently learned that it was indeed possible. Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technologies have been in use for decades, siphoning CO₂ out from sources such as factories and oil pipelines. However, its applications have not always been guided by the best intentions, as I will explain later.

How does it work?

CCUS is done mainly at large producers of CO₂, such as industrial plants or factories. This is to maximize the efficiency of these processes, as the concentration of CO2 is much greater at these locations. Most CCUS projects use a liquid agent to capture carbon dioxide as it is released as waste, though other methods are also under development. Since CO2 is initially released as a gas, it must first be compressed into a liquid before being transported by pipeline or ship. Finally, it can be stored underground, reused to make materials, or directly pumped into greenhouses.¹

Problems

The primary use of captured carbon dioxide is to pump it into oil wells to extract more oil. Even those who aren’t particularly observant may notice the issue here: if carbon dioxide is used to extract more fossil fuels, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of CCUS? You’d certainly be right to think so. In the past, and even today, oil and gas companies have branded themselves as ‘climate-friendly’ because they use CCUS technology. However, 90% of carbon emissions occur during the use of fossil fuels—in cars, trains, and airplanes.² As a result, these companies have used this technology to increase their profits while continuing to harm the environment.

In the long run

However, not all hope is lost for this approach. It is true that some corporations use CCUS for nefarious purposes, but others recognize the environmental benefits it could provide. Personally, I believe this will become a far more common method of dealing with pollution over time. CCUS currently captures 45 million tons of CO2 a year³, and while impressive, its impact will diminish over time. It’s still important to remember that we face this issue only because we created it in the first place. Reactive solutions like these are not permanent. Although they may slow the effects of climate change, we must work together to stop it once and for all.

1. National Grid. “What Is Carbon Capture and Storage?” National Grid, 26 Mar. 2024, ↩︎
2. EPA. “Scope 3 Inventory Guidance.” Www.epa.gov, 8 Nov. 2016, www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-3-inventory-guidance. Accessed 26 Jan. 2024. ↩︎
3. Herzog, Howard. “Carbon Capture.” MIT Climate Portal, 20 Jan. 2023, climate.mit.edu/explainers/carbon-capture. Accessed 26 Jan. 2025. ↩︎