Carbon capture and storage

Abstract

All over the world, climate change is regarded as one of the most important environmental problems faced by the planet. It is now accepted that mankind, through the emission of certain trace gases, has a significant influence on climatic conditions (anthropogenic greenhouse effect) and that the average global temperature of the earth will rise in the course of this century. In the opinion of most experts, this will lead to a shift in climatic zones, to more storms and to a rise in sea levels. The most important trace gases, which intensify the greenhouse effect, are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone (O3). Of all these emissions, CO2 is making the greatest contribution to global warming. For this reason, most of the measures for combating climate change target the reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.