CO2-ren bahiketa, klima-aldaketa arintzeko estrategia

Abstract

Climate change has aroused great interest in the last decades, since human activity is raising Earth's temperature. Among the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most abundant, and has in the combustion of fossil energy sources its prevailing anthropogenic origin. CO₂ lasts for long periods of time in the atmosphere, and therefore, limiting its emissions is a major objective. In light of this perspective, carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology can be used. For this purpose, the produced CO₂ needs to be captured before dumping it to the atmosphere, and then transported and stored in geological formations (deep saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas reservoirs). CCS technologies enable the continued use of fossil fuels while reducing CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere. However, this technology has some drawbacks such as: high investment costs and energy requirements, long term permanent storage needs to be verified, population's reluctance, and scarcity of storage sites in some countries.