How can we reduce carbon emissions in general?

The best way to tackle the problem of global warming and increasing carbon emissions is to look at the carbon cycle, or in a more straightforward sense, where carbon should be. Remember, carbon is not the enemy, but it is more about putting carbon in the correct places in the proper cycle. For example, carbon in the air (in the form of greenhouse gases) is detrimental. On the other hand, carbon in the soil for trees and plants is beneficial.

Thinking about it, there are several ways we can reduce carbon emissions. The first and most urgent is to stop burning fossil fuels. Just… stop. Keep these carbon deposits in the ground. We must prevent oil and gas companies from burning them for greed. We are still a ways from success, but renewable energy is getting more attractive to shift towards because of falling prices.

Then there is green carbon and blue carbon. For green carbon, we can think of it as trees and plants. Regenerative agriculture is one way that maximizes the use of carbon dioxide for enriching soil. Another way is to upkeep the forest, to keep them in a cycle to maximize absorption of carbon.

There is also blue carbon. Remember, our oceans also contain algae and seagrasses, which absorb carbon. Wetlands like mangroves are also crucial for carbon sequestration.

Carbon storage is one of the newer ideas. If carbon in the air is bad, let’s suck it out of the air! It’ll require advances in technology, like using Direct Carbon Capture technologies. There are startups racing against the carbon clock to do so.

The final way is to achieve a circular economy. Even if we switched to 100% renewable energy tomorrow, we would only have cut 55% of total carbon emissions. The remaining 45% is related to the products we use, which can be tackled if we design our economy to be circular.