“Every bit of warming matters, every year matters, every choice matters”
The IPCC
We welcome you to watch the recording – and read the event summary – of this PICS-hosted panel discussion among leading climate experts and innovators on the emerging field of Negative Emissions Technologies (NETs), with perspectives spanning the sciences, engineering, policy, and implementation.
NETs are systems that remove and permanently sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. These include both natural and industrial approaches, e.g. from planting trees to machines which extract CO2 out of the air for storage elsewhere.
NETs are not a substitute for reducing emissions, but they are an essential tool within the climate solutions toolbox for offsetting otherwise hard-to-decarbonize sectors. They can also help redress the imbalance caused to the natural global carbon cycle caused through decades of emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs)
The clock is ticking. To limit warming to 1.5°C as pledged under the Paris Agreement, global net human-caused emissions of CO2 need to reach ‘net zero’ around 2050, and all pathways require NETs. If we pass that threshold, NETs will be even more paramount.
Connect with our panelists from Canada and the United States as they tackle tough questions such as:
- What are our carbon budgets and debts to keep warming below 1.5°C or 2°C, and how can we meet them with NETs and other mitigation solutions?
- NETs can have repercussions on energy, water, food, and ecosystems – but so does inaction. What might our future society and the environment look like?
- How can we best invest our R&D money and knowhow given the uncertainty around many NET options and feasibility?
- Who? You? Me? What forms could or should NET mobilization take, and how do we build capacity equitably and sustainably?