Kashtan et al. (2026): Direct air capture has substantial health and climate opportunity costs
Yannai Kashtan, Joseph Pendleton, Brian Sousa, Mary D. Willis, Drew R. Michanowicz, Seth B. C. Shonkoff and Jonathan J. Buonocore, IN: Communications Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00068-0
Direct air capture has been increasingly proposed as a necessary complement to rapid greenhouse gas emissions reductions, yet climate mitigation resources are limited and investment decisions involve trade-offs. Existing studies have largely evaluated the net climate impacts or technoeconomics of direct air capture in isolation, leaving unclear how investments in direct air capture compare to alternative mitigation strategies when both climate and public health outcomes are considered. Here, the authors use established grid models to quantify the regional climate and health opportunity costs of allocating capital to direct air capture rather than to renewable electricity generation.