Direct air capture is an excellent idea, in theory. Its mission is to trap harmful carbon emissions from industrial processes and store them deep underground—to clean up pollution after it has hit the atmosphere, rather than at the source. But it’s expensive to implement, and few businesses want to invest the necessary funds, despite massive federal government subsidies and incentives.
Phil De Luna is the chief carbon scientist and head of engineering at Deep Sky in Montreal and a fierce champion of the idea. Deep Sky (a company he calls “an oil-and-gas company in reverse”) is set to open a facility this year where it will be testing out 10 different carbon capture prototypes from around the world.
In the upcoming July issue of Maclean’s, De Luna makes a passionate case for carbon capture, arguing that the cost and scope of the enterprise shouldn’t deter its implementation. The planet’s big problems demand big solutions. “The Earth needs all the help it can get,” he says.
–Sarah Fulford, editor-in-chief
