Informal dispatches from COP 26

DAY 9 — “Smart” has many meanings

By Thomas Vonier
FAIA RIBA
Immediate Past President, International Union of Architects
Former President, American Institute of Architects

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A Yale University professor here says we will need more “carbon capture” techniques—both natural and human-made—to meet net zero greenhouse gas emission objectives, because we cannot do enough to reduce such emissions.

Geological carbon sequestration takes carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial processes (for example, making steel or cement, or burning fossil fuel burning for power generation) and transports the extracted carbon by ship or pipeline to deep underground storage sites—including dry oil beds and “natural” geological formations.

Carbon capture is in use at industrial plants for coal gasification, ethanol production, and fertilizer manufacture. Facilities processing natural gas, and coal-fired power plants, also use the technology. The long-term risks associated with deep carbon storage sites are not fully known, according to critics, and the costs of the process are substantial.

Advocates of “carbon capture-and-use”—an approach that avoids long-term storage by reusing the extracted elements—say it is a viable approach for large industrial operations and could reduce current greenhouse gas releases by a significant margin.

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Tom is sending DesignIntelligence daily dispatches from COP 26 and offering his seasoned insights and observations along the way.