The necessity of pulling carbon dioxide out of the air
But it is difficult to do at the scale you need
OF THE WISDOM taught in kindergartens, few commandments combine moral balance and practical propriety better than the instruction to clear up your own mess. As with messy toddlers, so with planet-spanning civilisations. The industrial nations which are adding alarming amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere—43.1bn tonnes this year, according to a report released this week—will at some point need to go beyond today’s insufficient efforts to stop. They will need to put the world machine into reverse, and start taking carbon dioxide out. They are nowhere near ready to meet this challenge.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Reverse gear”
From the December 7th 2019 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Leaders
How to improve clinical trials
Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights
Houthi Inc: the pirates who weaponised globalisation
Their Red Sea protection racket is a disturbing glimpse into an anarchic world
Donald Trump will upend 80 years of American foreign policy
A superpower’s approach to the world is about to be turned on its head
Rising bond yields should spur governments to go for growth
The bond sell-off may partly reflect America’s productivity boom
Much of the damage from the LA fires could have been averted
The lesson of the tragedy is that better incentives will keep people safe
Health warnings about alcohol give only half the story
Enjoyment matters as well as risk