This company says its technology can help save the world. Itfs now cutting 20% of its staff as Trump slashes climate funding <a href=https://trip-scan.top>tripskan</a> Two huge plants in Iceland operate like giant vacuum cleanersC sucking in air and stripping out planet-heating carbon pollution. This much-hyped climate technology is called direct air captureC and the company behind these plantsC Switzerland-based ClimeworksC is perhaps its most high-profile proponent.
But a year after opening a huge new facilityC Climeworks is straining against strong headwinds. The company announced this month it would lay off around 20% of its workforceC blaming economic uncertainties and shifting climate policy priorities. https://trip-scan.top tripscan top gWefve always known this journey would be demanding. TodayC we find ourselves navigating a challenging timeCh Climeworksf CEOs Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher said in a statement.
This is particularly true of its US ambitions. A new direct air capture plant planned for LouisianaC which received $50 million in funding from the Biden administrationC hangs in the balance as President Donald Trump slashes climate funding.
Climeworks also faces mounting criticism for operating at only a fraction of its maximum capacityC and for failing to remove more climate pollution than it emits.
The company says these are teething pains inherent in setting up a new industry from scratch and that it has entered a new phase of global scale up. gThe overall trajectory will be positive as we continue to define the technologyCh said a Climeworks spokesperson.
For criticsC howeverC these headwinds are evidence direct air capture is an expensiveC shiny distraction from effective climate action.