The objective is to capture hundreds of thousands of tons of this gas which contributes to climate change. This is the largest investment ever announced in projects of this type. But this technology also has its detractors.
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One of the sites will be installed in Louisiana, the other in Texas. Each will have to suck in the atmosphere and store a million tons of carbon dioxide every year. That is the equivalent of the annual CO2 emissions of approximately 450,000 cars.
A hundred CO2 capture plants are planned worldwide, and just under 30 sites are already operational. But the existing factories are much smaller than those announced by the US government on Friday.
” Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions will not be enough to stem the consequences of climate changesaid US Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm. We must therefore also remove from the atmosphere part of the CO2 that we have already emitted », she assures.
And indeed, this is part of the necessary methods to fight against global warming according to the international group of experts on climate, the IPCC. But beware, they warn, CO2 capture also has its detractors. Some fear that this method will serve as a pretext to delay the energy transition, and to continue to finance polluting projects.
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