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The World Ahead | By Invitation: Science in 2024

Jennifer Holmgren on the circular carbon economy

The head of Lanzatech says this is the year to get serious about it

Illustration: Lauren Crow

By Jennifer Holmgren

Carbon is a main component in the make-up of all living things. It is the primary ingredient in the threads in our clothes, the materials in our homes and the fuel we use to power vehicles. It is also the source of our biggest environmental challenges.

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This article appeared in the Science and technology section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2024 under the headline “Reinventing the carbon economy”

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