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ProPublica ·Behind the news

Why Carbon Capture Can’t Conceivably Solve Climate Change

by Anna Donlan

Published 2026-06-25 10:00:00+00:00

If the world’s climate plan requires opening a new carbon storage site every four days, can it work?

0:00 / 12:49 · Narrator Rasalgethi

Context

This investigation from ProPublica and Drilled, published on 25 June 2026, traces the math behind carbon capture. While global leaders treat it as a primary solution for climate change, the physical reality is startling. To meet current goals, the world would need to build a new storage site every four days for twenty-five years. The piece pauses on why this technology remains the favorite of the fossil fuel industry despite a track record of failure and costs that dwarf most international aid budgets. It asks if the world is betting on a solution that is simply too big to build.

Show notes

An investigation into the technical and economic feasibility of carbon capture and storage as a proposed climate solution, assessing the physical requirements for global implementation—including land use, pipeline infrastructure, and storage capacity. The analysis contrasts forty years of industry-funded research with the operational record of existing test sites and details the financial costs of scaling the technology to meet current global targets.

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