JOURNAL: Remediating the sky: the role of geoenvironmental engineers and applied geoscientists in geochemical carbon dioxide removal
Summary
Authors:
Phil Renforth
Heriot-Watt University
Remediating the sky: the role of geoenvironmental engineers and applied geoscientists in geochemical carbon dioxide removal
Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
November 2023
This briefing introduces geochemical CO2 removal (gCDR), which proposes to accelerate the natural reaction of atmospheric CO2 with rocks or human-made materials. It also explores the critical role that geoenvironmental engineers and geoscientists will have in researching and deploying these technologies. While currently in early development, gCDR could operate at a global scale by mid/late-century, generating annual revenues comparable to the present-day oil industry. To realise this opportunity, the geoscience community needs to lead in the development of gCDR, help to pioneer its deployment, create standards for monitoring and verification, and incorporate gCDR into existing education programmes and professional development.