Episode description

It’s likely that there will be no successful green transition without an element of carbon capture, storage and re-use. The oil industry has been burying CO2 underground since the 1970s, so the infrastructure and technology is already available, but removing CO2 from the air at scale is new, and the companies doing it are small. We head to an experimental ‘direct air capture’ plant in Canada to hear how they are making fuel out of air, and explore what changes will be required to ensure that their industry becomes a significant one in the years to come. But if we think that a technology fix is out there, might we limit other efforts?

Presenters: Neal Razzell and Manuela Saragosa

Contributors: Steve Oldham, CEO, Carbon Engineering Dr Jennifer Wilcox, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the US Department of Energy Prof Stuart Haszeldine, professor of carbon storage and capture at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland Dr Simon Evans, policy editor, Carbon Brief Producer: Jordan Dunbar Series producer: Rosamund Jones Editor: Emma Rippon