BY RAMAN SENGHERA | APRIL 07, 2025 | Sustainability : The Fight Against GHGs
When we think about fighting climate change, our minds often go straight to solar panels, electric cars, and cutting back on fossil fuels. And rightly so—reducing emissions is essential. But another powerful solution works quietly in the background, pulling carbon dioxide (CO₂) out of the atmosphere and locking it away. It’s called carbon sequestration, which might be one of our best allies in the race to save the planet.
Whether you’re a climate-conscious business leader, a curious student, or someone who cares about where the world is headed, understanding carbon sequestration is key to understanding our climate future. So, let’s break it down—practically and with some hope.
What Exactly Is Carbon Sequestration?
Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing CO₂. It can happen naturally—through forests, soils, and oceans—or it can be done using advanced technologies designed to trap carbon and stash it underground.
We usually talk about it in two primary forms:
- Biological Carbon Sequestration: Nature’s way of dealing with CO₂. Plants absorb it during photosynthesis, soils store it in organic matter, and oceans lock it into marine ecosystems.
- Geological Carbon Sequestration: This is the engineered approach. We capture CO₂ (often from factories or power plants), compress it, and inject it deep underground into rock formations where it can stay for thousands of years.
And then there’s the new kid on the block: direct air capture—machines that suck carbon out of the air. It sounds like sci-fi, but it’s already happening.
Why It Matters—Right Now
CO₂ levels are the highest they’ve been in over 800,000 years. We’ve gone from around 280 parts per million (ppm) before the Industrial Revolution to over 420 ppm today. That’s the engine behind global warming—all the heatwaves, rising seas, and wild weather we’re seeing.
Even if we stopped emitting carbon tomorrow (which we won’t), we’d still need to remove massive amounts of CO₂ already in the atmosphere to meet climate targets like net zero by 2050.
That’s where carbon sequestration comes in. It gives us breathing room. It helps neutralise emissions from industries that are hard to decarbonise—like aviation, shipping, and steelmaking. And it buys us time to build the clean energy systems of the future.
The Many Faces of Sequestration
Here’s what carbon sequestration looks like in action:
- Forests: Nature’s Carbon Vaults
Planting new trees (afforestation) or restoring lost forests (reforestation) can soak up vast amounts of CO₂. It’s simple, beautiful, and effective—so long as those forests are protected from deforestation, fire, and disease.
- Soil: More Than Just Dirt
Healthy soil is a massive carbon sponge. Farmers can increase soil carbon through regenerative agriculture—no-till farming, planting cover crops, and rotating livestock. It’s good for the planet and good for food security.
- Oceans: The Blue Giants
The ocean already absorbs about 25% of our CO₂ emissions. Tiny organisms like phytoplankton act like underwater trees, drawing in carbon through photosynthesis. However, the oceans are also getting more acidic, threatening marine life. So, while we rely on oceans, we must protect them, too.
- Geological Storage: Deep, Dark, and Durable
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves trapping CO₂ at its source and pumping it into deep underground rock layers—often in depleted oil and gas fields. Norway’s Sleipner project has been doing this since the 1990s. It works but is expensive and needs careful regulation to avoid leakage.
- Direct Air Capture: Science Meets Innovation
Imagine giant machines that pull CO₂ straight out of the air and either bury it or turn it into something useful. Companies like Climeworks in Iceland are already proving it’s possible. The big challenge now? Scaling up and bringing down costs.
Big Promise, Big Questions
We need to remove billions of tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere this century—potentially up to 1000 billion tonnes by 2100, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
But no single solution can do it all. Here are some of the key challenges:
- Land and Resources: Nature-based methods require a lot of land, which can conflict with food production or local communities.
- Permanence: Trees can burn, and soils can erode. Geological storage is more permanent but harder to monitor.
- Cost and Scale: Tech-based solutions like direct air capture can cost $100–$600 per tonne of CO₂ That’s steep.
- Verification: We need to be sure the carbon we “store” stays put—and that’s not always easy to prove.
What’s in It for Us?
Done right, carbon sequestration can be a win-win. Some of the side benefits include:
- Reviving ecosystems and biodiversity
- Creating green jobs in forestry, agriculture, and clean tech
- Improving soil health and food security
- Enhancing resilience to drought and climate extremes
But we need to be careful. Not all projects are created equal. Some may cause more harm than good—especially when corporations use them as a licence to keep polluting. That’s where transparency, regulation, and local engagement become critical.
The Policy Push and Market Momentum
Thankfully, carbon sequestration is starting to get the attention—and investment—it deserves. Around the world:
- Carbon markets now reward verified sequestration with tradable
- Governments are offering incentives, such as the U.S. tax credits for CCS under the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Companies are pledging billions. Microsoft, Shopify, and Stripe are leading the charge in funding early-stage carbon removal technologies.
Public-private partnerships, smart policy, and continued innovation will determine how fast and far we can go.
The Bigger Picture: One Tool in a Bigger Toolbox
Clearly, carbon sequestration is not a substitute for slashing emissions. It’s a backup plan. A support system. A critical sidekick to renewable energy, electric transport, and circular economies.
The real magic happens when we integrate these tools:
- Clean energy first
- Efficiency everywhere
- And carbon sequestration to mop up the rest
With the right balance, we can protect people and the planet without compromising.
A Personal Note
We’re living through a defining moment. The choices we make now—about how we power our homes, grow our food, and build our cities—will shape the world for generations.
Carbon sequestration might not make daily headlines, but it deserves our attention. It’s not flashy, it’s not perfect, but it is powerful. And in the fight against climate change, we need every bit of power we can get.
Congratulations if you’ve ever planted a tree, supported a conservation project, or wondered how technology could help us clean the air. You’re part of the story.
Let’s keep going.