A prudent planetary limit for geologic carbon storage

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Paper Summary

Conflicts of Interest

Identified Weaknesses

Rating Explanation

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Paper Summary

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Storing CO2 Underground Has Limits! (Like Your Basement)

This study estimates a "prudent planetary limit" for storing carbon dioxide (CO2) underground to be around 1,460 gigatons, much lower than previous estimates. This limit is based on avoiding various risks, like earthquakes and leaks into water supplies, and suggests we'll need to cut emissions drastically to stay within it.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Weaknesses

Reliance on models and scenarios

The study relies heavily on climate models and future emissions scenarios, both of which have inherent uncertainties. The actual amount of CO2 that needs to be stored might be higher or lower than projected.

Exclusion criteria

The exclusion criteria used to determine the prudent limit are somewhat subjective and based on current knowledge. Future research might necessitate revising these criteria.

Focus on sedimentary basins

The study primarily focuses on storage in sedimentary basins, while other potential storage methods (like basalt formations) are less developed but could offer additional capacity.

Doesn't account for scaling up challenges

The study does not fully consider the practical challenges of scaling up CO2 storage infrastructure to the gigaton level, such as infrastructure limitations and regulatory hurdles.

Rating Explanation

This is a strong and important study with a novel approach to estimating CO2 storage capacity. It highlights a crucial limitation of carbon capture and storage that is often overlooked in climate mitigation scenarios. Despite its reliance on models and subjective exclusion criteria, the study's findings have significant implications for policy and future research directions.

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