O=C=OSafe underground carbon storage would only reduce warming by 0.7°C, analysis finds
For the first time, a study maps safe areas that can practically be used for underground #carbon storage, and estimates that using them all would only cut warming by 0.7°C. The result is almost ten times lower than previous estimates of around 6°C, which considered the total global potential for geological storage, including in risky zones, where storing carbon could trigger earthquakes and contaminate drinking water supplies. The researchers say the study shows that geological storage is a scarce, finite resource, and warn that countries must use it in a highly targeted way.
Carbon storage is widely seen as essential for achieving climate goals, whether by capturing emissions from factories and power plants or removing #CO2 from the atmosphere. According to lead author Matthew Gidden, a senior researcher in the #IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program and at the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland, U.S., the study's findings highlight the need for caution:
"With this study, we can conclude that carbon storage should be treated as an exhaustible, intergenerational resource, requiring responsible management. Hard choices must be made about which countries, which sectors, and even which generations are able to utilize it. It's critical that countries make clear in their climate action plans how they plan to use carbon storage in order to collectively achieve long-term climate goals while minimizing harm to human health, biodiversity, and sustainable development."
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-safe-underground-carbon-storage-07c.html
Safe underground carbon storage would only reduce warming by 0.7°C, analysis finds
For the first time, a study maps safe areas that can practically be used for underground carbon storage, and estimates that using them all would only cut warming by 0.7°C. The result is almost ten times lower than previous estimates of around 6°C, which considered the total global potential for geological storage, including in risky zones, where storing carbon could trigger earthquakes and contaminate drinking water supplies. The researchers say the study shows that geological storage is a scarce, finite resource, and warn that countries must use it in a highly targeted way.
Niklas Roming
Daniel Huppmann
Georg Nowak