Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

We are rooted in the recognition that new societally acceptable technologies and business opportunities are needed to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and to quickly reduce our dependence on fossil carbon sources. However, not enough research has been happening to advance this field and the translation of inventions to market-ready products takes too long. Our Initiative seeks to change this by supporting work across the entire value chain through global partnerships with a university-coordinated effort. Around 2015, the original idea for this approach emerged in parallel with the not-for-profit company CO2 Sciences in San Francisco and the Beyond Carbon Neutral Program at the University of Michigan. In 2016, CO2 Sciences found the Global CO2 Initiative. In early 2018, we decided to merge the two efforts into one, and the Global CO2 Initiative at the University of Michigan was launched while CO2 Sciences closed. 
A key focus is the open, transparent, and consistent assessment of environmental and economic risks and opportunities. In partnership with a large international community, we develop and disseminate guidelines for how these assessments should be done.

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How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

The technologies that we promote have the capability to capture and utilize 2-8 gigatons for CO2 every year. A large portion of that (up to 5 gigatons) will be converted to rock-materials for construction from which the CO2 will never again emerge. The rest can be used to produce carbon-based products that we need for our daily lives but which we can no longer produce from petroleum. Thus, we reduce atmospheric CO2 by taking it out of the air and converting it into durable goods. Additionally, we avoid new CO2 emissions because we replace carbon from petroleum with carbon from captured CO2. It is important to know that even in the long-term natural and unavoidable CO2 emissions will create a balanced system so that there is no risk to deplete the atmosphere of CO2!

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Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

The principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion underlie and guide all of our work. Our home department (Mechanical Engineering) was just awarded the 2022 Rhetaugh G. Dumas Progress in Diversifying Award at the University of Michigan for our collective achievements in this context. 

Our core team and participating faculty affiliates at the University of Michigan and elsewhere represent a wide array of communities and identities. In particular, our collaboration with faculty at the University of New Mexico builds research and job opportunities for Native-American and LatinX students from the surrounding communities.

We find that our work is particularly appealing to underrepresented groups amongst students in multiple dimensions. Underrepresented groups have been particularly well reflected in the leadership of our Student Association.

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