Scientists, economists and policymakers throughout the world now agree that climate change is the most serious environmental problem confronting humankind. Although these long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns are caused, at least to some extent, by natural forces, there is consensus that at least since the 1800s, human activities have been the primary factor in making climate change a salient problem.
To address this problem, economists and policymakers have generally advocated the use of price and quantity control instruments. Efforts have largely been concentrated on creating the right incentives to get people and firms to diminish their use of fossil fuels and move toward renewable energy sources.
Although there is nothing wrong with price and quantity control instruments to fight climate change, these tools have not done enough to put a dent in the massive problem. We hear about climate devastation regularly. There have been multiple news reports about record high temperatures in the Western states of the U.S.
Carbon dioxide-removal technologies refer to processes such as direct air capture that attempt to deal with a key cause of climate change by lowering atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.