Carbon dioxide: our enemy or our ally?
immc | Louvain-la-Neuve
It’s the Energy Transition Week at UCLouvain!
At iMMC, sustainability is not a slogan — it’s our daily scientific reality.
Every day this week, discover one of our academics whose research drives real change toward a sustainable future.
Carbon dioxide: our enemy or our ally?
CO₂ emissions have become a daily nightmare for anyone aware of their impact on our planet. Global warming — or better said, a global warning* — is the consequence of having too much CO₂ in the atmosphere.
The obvious solution? Don’t emit it.
Sounds simple, right? But that would mean switching off our electricity, heating, and transport — a radical transformation that demands time, resilience, and real change, not greenwashing.
Since we can’t stop producing CO₂ overnight, new strategies are emerging: capturing CO₂ from the air or chimneys and storing it underground. But there’s another way — turning CO₂ into a valuable resource.
The Patricia Luis Alconaro'team explores how to convert CO₂ into high-value molecules, making it a new carbon source instead of waste. This vision aims for complete CO₂ circularity — closing the carbon loop and moving towards true carbon neutrality.
“CO₂ as the new source of carbon: advancing towards CO₂ neutrality.”
Learn more about our research on sustainable energy and carbon circularity