Despair or Hope for CO₂ Neutrality in the Anthropocene?
About this Event
Join us for a talk with Prof Mark Lawrence, Scientific Director at the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, exploring one of the most pressing questions in the climate debate: how much can we realistically rely on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to address climate change?
The myriad impacts of climate change, one of the main manifestations of the Anthropocene, are becoming increasingly evident worldwide, and in some regions are already catastrophic. Despite this, efforts to reduce emissions of climate forcers have had limited international success thus far, and particularly CO₂ continues to accumulate in the atmosphere.
This had led to an increase in political and societal discussions, as well as research and development of measures for active carbon management, such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU), and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). These approaches are often touted as the key to achieving CO₂ neutrality, given that emissions from fossil fuel combustion and other major sources will likely not be completely eliminated. Understandably, the appeal of such technologies is great, and plans are being made to apply them to support achieving CO₂ neutrality by various context-specific near-future dates, like 2040 or 2050.
However, how realistic is it to remove the amount of CO₂ currently being discussed from the atmosphere? What would the financial, ecological, and social costs of such technologies be, and what risks would be associated with their widespread deployment? In light of such vast challenges in the Anthropocene, are there any grounds for hope?
About the speaker
Prof Mark Lawrence is scientific director at RIFS, the Research Institute for Sustainability at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (formerly IASS). He addresses the Anthropocene in an integrative manner, bringing together a wide range of academic expertise in his team and involving societal actors in a transdisciplinary research approach.
His main transformative research topics include air pollution, climate change, climate geoengineering, environment-related governance of vulnerable regions like the Himalayas, the Arctic and the ocean, and the sustainability-oriented interfaces between the sciences and other key knowledge-holder communities such as the arts, religions and indigenous peoples.
He also actively supports whole person development as a component of sustainability, including exploring the common ground between personal transformations and systemic transformations, as well as the mindsets needed to bring these into harmony
This talk is hosted by the King’s Climate Research Hub.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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