New way to turn carbon dioxide into coal could ‘rewind the emissions clock’

If humans hope to limit climate change to just 2°C of warming, we’ve got a lot of work to do, scientists say: reducing emissions, planting trees, and scrubbing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the skies with the latest technologies. Now, a new process can convert gaseous CO₂—the product of burning fossil fuels—into solid carbon at room temperature, using only a trickle of electricity. But getting it to work on a planet-wide scale will be a formidable challenge.