ENV 698b/EVST 450 () / 2024-2025

Carbon Containment

There is growing recognition that reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions alone is not sufficient to mitigate catastrophic effects of global climate change. As GHGs accumulate in the atmosphere, it is increasingly important to draw down these emissions cost-effectively in large quantities via carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon capture and storage (CCS) techniques–which can be broadly described as “carbon containment.” Recognizing the urgency of the problem at hand and the need for private and philanthropic action, many large companies, investors, and donors have stepped up commitments to stabilize the climate and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. In addition to decarbonization strategies that reduce emissions, climate leaders are investing in and purchasing credits from negative emission carbon containment projects that reduce atmospheric levels of GHGs. Currently, the options for entities to credibly meet ambitious climate goals using carbon containment approaches are very limited. This goal of this course is to: (1) teach and engage students from a range of disciplines about the existing technologies and markets for carbon containment, (2) investigate nascent or neglected carbon containment mechanisms, and (3) develop case studies highlighting strategies and risks for moving promising pre-commercial ideas from concept to practice.

There are no prerequisites for this course, although familiarity with basic climate science, policy, carbon markets, and GHG emissions inventories is helpful.