Climate Change: Carbon Capture and Storage (edX)

The aim of Carbon Capture and Storage is to achieve:

- Deep reductions in carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere

- Unlock carbon negative solutions to achieve a neutral carbon balance to the atmosphere in the 21st century

Carbon Capture and Storage makes cheap, widely available fossil fuels ‘safe to use’ in the context of the Paris Climate Change agreement of 2015. It prevents their carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere to store them permanently and safely underground.

The course is taught by a team of leading academics at the University of Edinburgh with decades of experience in this field. It aims to bridge the gap between the forefront of the latest developments in science, engineering, geology, policy and economics, and the wider public.

The aim is to help you understand this technology objectively and why it is so important in our efforts against climate change. We hope the course will make you want to find out more about climate change mitigation options and that you will continue to further educate yourself in this area.

What you'll learn

Regardless of your background, the course will teach you the key elements to help you better understand

- how to protect the atmosphere with the technology of Carbon Capture and Storage, often called CCS, from an excess of carbon dioxide

- the fundamental drivers to make fossil fuels ‘safe to use’ in the context of the Paris Climate Change agreement of 2015

- key sectors of the global economy where CCS can contribute to deep reductions in emissions

- the uniqueness of CCS to complement other low-carbon technologies

- how CCS can unlock carbon negative solutions, which will need to be used before mid-century

- the principles of the technologies currently used to stop carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere,

- the key elements of geology for permanently, and safely, disposing of carbon dioxide underground

- the international state of play today

- the scale of the industry in the 21st century

Syllabus

Block 1 – Why we need Carbon Capture and Storage: Climate drivers

Block 2 – the role of CCS in key sectors of the economy

Block 3 – Carbon Dioxide Capture technologies

Week 4 – Geological storage of carbon dioxide

Week 5 – Future prospects