Back

Big Ideas Podcast tackles the road to carbon removal

The Big Ideas Lab podcast (Download Image)

The latest Big Ideas Lab episode provides insights into how 68 researchers nationwide came up with a comprehensive analysis of the capacity and costs for carbon dioxide removal at a county level. Listen on Apple or Spotify.

 

 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has released a new episode of the Big Ideas Lab Podcast, focusing on the critical efforts being made to help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The episode provides insights into how 68 researchers nationwide came up with a comprehensive analysis of the capacity and costs for carbon dioxide removal at a county level. Listen on Apple or Spotify.

Many extreme weather events, from raging wildfires to catastrophic hurricanes and floods, have made headlines in recent years. And now it seems “Once-in-a-lifetime events” are becoming common.

Scientists, farmers and industrial workers — groups that rarely sit at the same table — are collaborating on a bold new vision to tackle the climate crisis. That vision is guided by a groundbreaking document: the Roads to Removal report from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The past decade has seen a 30% spike in extreme weather, wreaking havoc on ecosystems and economies alike. The urgency for change is undeniable. Floods, wildfires, droughts, category-five hurricanes — these are the warning signs of a far greater threat: climate change. And that trend isn’t slowing down. To fix it, we need to face the real issue: the staggering amount of carbon emissions entering the atmosphere.

“Over the past century or so, we have released an enormous amount of greenhouse gases, in particular carbon dioxide,” said Jennifer Pett-Ridge, lead of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Carbon Initiative. “And some of that is through our practices, the way we practice agriculture, the changes that we've made to forest cover on our planet. But largely it's because of burning fossil fuels.”

The most critical step is reducing emissions at their source, often called “decarbonizing.” This involves shifting away from fossil fuels and dramatically reducing emissions, which can address around 90% of the problem.

The solution to meeting the 2050 carbon removal goal isn’t as simple as following a single approach. It requires a deep understanding of the diverse resources, challenges, and opportunities across the country. It requires data and insight.

Enter the Roads to Removal report — an in-depth assessment of carbon removal potential in the U.S. Built by 68 researchers across 13 academic institutions, this Department of Energy-funded report offers a comprehensive analysis of the capacity and costs for carbon dioxide removal at a county level.

“We needed to create a centralized one-stop-shop location for somebody to say, okay, if I'm going to be doing a project or if a project is coming to my local area, what are some variables that I need to be interested in or ask about?” said Kimberley Mayfield, staff scientist of Energy Equity & Carbon Management at LLNL.

Whether you’re a farmer in North Dakota or an industrial worker in Wyoming, the report provides information tailored to your region’s resources. The goal is to enable informed decision-making at the local level.

Tune in to the latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab Podcast to dive into the Roads to Removal report and see how LLNL scientists are working to alleviate the climate crisis. Listen on Apple or Spotify.