Bill Gates is an investor in Carbon Engineering. A leading carbon-extraction company, Carbon Engineering wants to stop climate change by sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Located in Squamish, British Columbia, very close to Pinnacle’s headquarters in Delta, British Columbia. CNBC takes viewers to both sides of the discussion.

With Trump in office, some outspoken business leaders are moving forward with their agendas to stop climate change.

The current heat wave hitting continental Europe reminds us that, whether one believes climate change is directly caused by humans or not, the earth is warming. France saw 44 degrees Celsius or 113-degree Fahrenheit temperatures this week – a full degree higher than its previous record.

Reducing carbon dioxide in our atmosphere could slow the warming down and make early investors billions in the process.

Historical CO2 Levels

Carbon Engineering – Direct Air Capture

Carbon Engineering uses a combination of giant fans and complex chemical processes to remove carbon dioxide from the air in a procedure known as Direct Air Capture.

Is Direct Air Capture finally making financial sense?

Backed by Bill Gates — Carbon Engineering also has the support of oil giants Chevron, BHP, and Occidental. According to CNBC, “These partnerships will bring Carbon Engineering’s tech to market by using the captured carbon to make synthetic fuels and help extract more oil from the ground.”

Above all, the video from earlier this month asks an important question:

Will Carbon Engineering’s technology decrease the amount of CO2 in the air, or is it going to prolong our dependence on fossil fuels?

Fiona Wild, BHP Vice President for Climate Change and Sustainability, says,

“We need more renewables, more direct air capture; we need more carbon capture in storage, we need more nature-based solutions.”

Finally, it is obvious to see why energy companies support this initiative. According to Mark Jacobson, a Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Stanford,

“You’re not stopping the fossil fuel industry; you’re promoting it.”

Still, as the costs to capture and recycle or safely store carbon declines and companies like Carbon Engineering begin to run on renewable energy sources, the chances of net negative carbon companies and countries become less of a dream and more of a goal.