Of course, rapid emissions reductions would be best.
However, there are still two very solid arguments for capture, even if it has greater costs.
First, even if we somehow make emissions go to zero next Monday and forever after, the CO2 already baked into the atmosphere will still cause massive warming for centuries, and this will cause massive ecological disuption. Only removing the carbon (and/or implementing sun-blocking technologies) will allow a fast enough reset to pre-industrial levels and avoid such damage.
Second, it is extremely unlikely that we could make emissions go to zero in anything like the required timeframe. Even if somehow 100% of the people and politicians became convinced and decided to start next Monday, it would be decades before we approached zero emissions. Replacing all the fossil-fuel technology will not be instant. Thus, again, capture and sun-blocking tech has a definite role in rapidly repairing the damage.
However, there are still two very solid arguments for capture, even if it has greater costs.
First, even if we somehow make emissions go to zero next Monday and forever after, the CO2 already baked into the atmosphere will still cause massive warming for centuries, and this will cause massive ecological disuption. Only removing the carbon (and/or implementing sun-blocking technologies) will allow a fast enough reset to pre-industrial levels and avoid such damage.
Second, it is extremely unlikely that we could make emissions go to zero in anything like the required timeframe. Even if somehow 100% of the people and politicians became convinced and decided to start next Monday, it would be decades before we approached zero emissions. Replacing all the fossil-fuel technology will not be instant. Thus, again, capture and sun-blocking tech has a definite role in rapidly repairing the damage.