Can we reduce emissions?
Yes. Many of the ways to reduce emissions are quite straightforward, for example: don't drive - walk or take a bus, fly less, insulate homes, turn off lights when they are not required, and use renewable energy sources. Science is playing a key role in developing new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as investigating ways to store carbon dioxide.
Storing carbon dioxide underground
There is a danger that if societies do not drastically curb emissions this century we will reach a point when, even if we stop all emissions, the Earth will continue to warm. One solution is to take all the carbon dioxide emitted from power station chimneys and pipe it underground. This method of reducing emissions to the atmosphere is called sequestration and is now being carefully considered in the UK. Other countries, such as Norway and the United States of America, have already shown the technology is viable and NERC's British Geological Survey has pioneered research and technology in this area since the early 1990s.
The British Geological Survey predicts there is enough storage capacity in oil and gas fields, coals and porous rocks to take all the carbon dioxide emissions from European Union power generation for hundreds of years. The largest storage space available is in deep saltwater bearing rocks, called saline aquifers.
The technology for underground carbon dioxide storage is routine and available to emerging economies wanting to develop and use their fossil fuels, even if the rich nations develop non-fossil fuel based energy sources.