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From Vision to Reality: Roadmap to 2040
To turn this atlas into action, we must build a global CO₂ storage network at unprecedented speed and scale. By 2040 we need to:
- Deploy 1,000+ commercial‐scale storage sites—from saline aquifers to basalt formations—across every continent
- Bring 20–40 new facilities online each year—eliminating permitting and financing delays
- Construct cross‐border CO₂ transport corridors linking major emitters to their nearest storage hubs
- Integrate removal technologies (DACCS, BECCS) where renewables and biomass offer maximal impact
- Sequester 150+ gigatons CO₂ cumulatively—locking away centuries of industrial emissions
Regional Deployment Targets
Every continent has geology, emissions and equity considerations. By 2040, we need:
- Africa: 200+ sites across the Karoo, Maghreb, Rift and coastal basins
- North America: 250+ sites—Gulf Coast, Midwest saline, Alberta basalts, Western DACCS hubs
- South America: 150+ sites—Paraná Basin, Amazon margins, Patagonian offshore
- Europe: 200+ sites—North Sea aquifers, Eastern basins, Mediterranean fields
- Asia‐Pacific: 200+ sites—China, India, Southeast Asia, Siberia, Australia
- Polar Research: Experimental, ultra-long-term sites in Arctic permafrost and Antarctic stable strata
Enabling Actions
Ambition alone isn’t enough. We need systems and safeguards to move at scale:
- Harmonized global permitting & finance to cut project timelines to under 5 years
- Standardized MRV protocols for transparent monitoring, reporting and verification
- Community partnerships & justice safeguards to ensure local benefits and environmental protections
- Ongoing R&D into new trapping methods, mineralization pathways and digital monitoring
- International coordination on carbon markets and cross-border CO₂ pipeline networks
This map isn’t a prediction. It’s a commitment by all of humanity. Each dot is a storage site. Each site is a promise. If we build this—together, wisely, fast enough—then 2040 is not a tipping point. It’s a turning point.