Microsoft wants to use algae to compensate for its CO2 emissions
Microsoft recently partnered with environmental company Running Tide to offset its carbon emissions. The focus is primarily on the oceans, as the company wants to become carbon negative with the help of algae.
Despite increasing efforts from companies and nations, the world appears to be racing towards the 1.5 degree climate target. In the meantime see several organizationsthat in the future we will also have to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But there are still doubts about the approach, because only recently it became clear that many climate projects are overrated.
According to the plan, we would have to absorb about ten gigatonnes of carbon dioxide annually and store it elsewhere. Microsoft now wants to demonstrate how this can work with a new strategic partnership. Because the company, together with the environmental company Running Tide, would like to remove greenhouse gases from the environment in the long term.
Algae: Microsoft is counting on offsetting its own emissions by 2030
The collaboration focuses on storing 12,000 tons of CO2 over the next two years. Various processes are supposed to pull the gas out of the atmosphere and store it in the deep sea. At the same time, Microsoft agreed that Running Tide would regularly review the quality of carbon storage.
Because only if the gas stays under water for a long time can it make an essential contribution to the climate goals of the IT giant.
Microsoft also wants to be climate-negative by 2030 at the latest. This means that by then various plants should compensate for more emissions than the company releases. Basically, it is important to transfer the CO2 from the fast carbon cycle to the slow carbon cycle.
No permanent solution: New methods only buy us time
While the atmosphere or oceans store the gas in the fast carbon cycle, it is different in the slow cycle. This is because specialized companies shift greenhouse gases to lower-lying reservoirs, such as old oil fields or rock strata. This is how carbon dioxide and co. only get back into the atmosphere over several millennia.
Until then, there are probably more than enough solutions to deal with the problem. So, in the short term, you buy yourself time within which we can switch from dirty to cleaner processes. Nevertheless, it remains important to prioritize eliminating emissions rather than offsetting them.
Also interesting:
