Ideas worth spreading

Can we stop climate change by removing CO2 from the air?

1,685,910 views |

Tim Kruger |

TED2017

• April 2017

Could we cure climate change? Geoengineering researcher Tim Kruger wants to try. He shares one promising possibility: using natural gas to generate electricity in a way that takes carbon dioxide out of the air. Learn more -- both the potential and the risks -- about this controversial field that seeks creative, deliberate and large-scale intervention to stop the already catastrophic consequences of our warming planet.

Could we cure climate change? Geoengineering researcher Tim Kruger wants to try. He shares one promising possibility: using natural gas to generate electricity in a way that takes carbon dioxide out of the air. Learn more -- both the potential and the risks -- about this controversial field that seeks creative, deliberate and large-scale intervention to stop the already catastrophic consequences of our warming planet.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Tim Kruger

Geoengineering researcher

See speaker profile

Tim Kruger researches geoengineering: techniques to counteract climate change by deliberate, large-scale intervention in the earth system -- either by reflecting sunlight back into space or by reducing the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Phil Williamson | Nature, 2016 | Article

"Emissions reduction: Scrutinize CO2 removal methods"

A commentary by Phil Williamson explaining both the need for, and the issues with, the large-scale removal of carbon dioxide from the air.

Tim Kruger, Oliver Geden and Steve Rayner | The Guardian, 2016 | Article

"Abandon hype in climate models"

An article in The Guardian& that I wrote with Oliver Geden and Steve Rayner about the dangers of including techniques that remove carbon dioxide from the air in climate models without a sufficient evidence base.

Oxford Martin School, 2015 | Article

"Halfway there: living on a prayer"

A blog post on the Oxford Martin School website about the need to develop technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the air. Other related blogs posts can be found here.

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How fast the carbon clock is ticking

A very interesting web tool showing "how fast the carbon clock is ticking" on the website of The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change. We have a limited carbon budget — the amount that we can emit before we cause temperatures to rise by 1.5°C or 2°C. Depending on climate sensitivity, they estimate we have between 9 and 23 years before we cross the 2°C threshold. For the 1.5°C threshold, they estimate we may already have crossed that threshold — at best, we have three and a half years at current rates of emissions.

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A website explaining the Origen Power process, which uses natural gas to generate electricity in a way that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A demonstrator of the Origen Power process is being developed by Cranfield University as part of the Balanced Energy Networks project, which is funded by Innovate UK.

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Climate System Research

It is essential that research in this space is adequately governed. While some people believe that no additional governance is needed, others feel that research related to deliberate large-scale intervention in the climate system requires additional governance. The Oxford Principles were an early initiative. A more detailed Code of Conduct for research in this space is being developed by the Geoengineering Research Governance Project and engagement on this issue with policy-makers and society-wide discussion is being undertaken by the Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.