Can Splitting CO2 Reduce Greenhouse Gases?

Written By Teacher: Teresa Pettitt-Kenney

Hi there! My name is Teresa and I just finished my Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and am excited to pursue environmental education in the future! I am extremely passionate about climate change, equitable climate action, and how education can work to address these issues. 

If your students have ever come to you with a creative question like the one above, you might not always know the best way to answer. The article below provides a comprehensive overview surrounding the science of CO2 splitting and the technological limitations we face when trying to implement the process. Become an expert on the topic yourself by diving into this article, then talk about it with your students. Start with the core problem by investigating Global CO2 Atmospheric Concentration, then have students research a solution they support the most with this Solutions Lesson Plan.

Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.

Let’s break this question into two parts: first, pulling CO2 out of the atmosphere, and then splitting the CO2 molecules.

The use of technology to pull CO2 out of the atmosphere is called direct air capture (DAC). Most commonly, machines suck in surrounding air and then chemically bind it with a non-toxic solution to separate out the CO2. Currently, DAC comes with high energy costs: one study estimates that the energy needed to run DAC machines as a primary climate solution would be the same as the current annual energy needs of Japan, China, the US, and the EU combined. To make DAC a climate solution, this energy would need to come from low- or no-carbon sources, such as wind, solar and nuclear power—which raises the question, should this massive amount of low-carbon energy be used to power DAC machines, or support our current energy needs and replace fossil fuels? Because of the complications this creates, DAC has been cited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as just one of a suite of technologies and practices for limiting global warming to 2°C.