Can carbon capture and storage save the climate from the consequences of fossil fuel burning? This in-depth report from Scientific American surveys global efforts to eliminate climate impacts from power generation. Without such technology, it will be extremely difficult for the world's largest emitters—China, U.S., the European Union and India—to combat climate change and produce the energy to power the global economy. As an environmental journalist since 1999, I have been covering climate change for a decade now. From the failures of previous negotiations, I have witnessed firsthand the critical role technology will play in solving the problem of excess greenhouse gas emissions as well as making climate change politically possible to solve.

Every day we hear stories of global warming – melting glaciers, wildfires and drought. But there’s another problem, which may be even more dangerous to sea life, yet many people have never heard of it. It’s ocean acidification: the gradual change in pH as CO2 dissolves in the seas. The frightening thing is that it may already be too late to do much about it. There’s a lag in time between CO2 building up in the atmosphere and its effect on the sea. Current atmospheric levels are high enough to slow the growth of corals, and stop other animals from building shells. To learn more about the problem – and get a clear sense of what we are about to lose – John Pickrell joined Australian scientists on a marine survey vessel over the Great Barrier Reef. Here he learned that entire ecosystems could collapse along with fisheries and tourism. This story follows the desperate struggle of scientists to document changes and find solutions before it’s too late.

A new framework for reducing carbon emissions takes a crack at the knottiest dilemma confronting a global climate solution: how to divvy cuts between rich and poor nations. The approach attempts to sidestep rancor that has stymied climate negotiations for years. It starts with a surprising finding that virtually every country has a class of individuals – the so-called "high emitters" - enjoying a rich, carbon-intensive lifestyle. If those individuals, no matter their locale, are forced to take responsibility for their emissions, a great swath of countries become participants in the climate effort. "It's ingenious," said one climate expert. "It's a great way to shift the conversation."