Dennis Gnoni Visconti | FILM EDITOR - NZZ Format

CO2 Removal – Just a Hype?

Documentary, Reportage | 50 min | 2025 | NZZ Format, SRF

In a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve the climate targets after all, science and start-ups have developed ground-breaking technologies. CO2 can now be removed directly from the atmosphere to save the climate targets after all. But after the hype comes the reality check. By 2050, several billion tonnes of CO2 are to be sucked out of the air every year - so far, just 1 million tonnes have been achieved. Will that be enough?

The documentary takes a deep dive into the up-and-coming CO2 removal industry, in which Swiss companies such as Climeworks and Neustark play a leading role. The wealth of ideas is immense: from huge direct air capture plants in Iceland, CO2-binding concrete and biochar to the use of the sea as a CO2 reservoir and underground fossilisation - the solutions are diverse. But now the crucial question arises: Are the current efforts, the available funding and the political framework conditions sufficient to remove the billions of tonnes of CO2 that are urgently needed in addition to reducing emissions in order to achieve the global climate targets?

NZZ Format about the race against time.

Client: NZZ Format | nzz.ch
Writer & Director: Luca Froelicher | linkedin.com
Cinematographer: Stephan Huwyler & Ramón Königshausen
Film Editor: Dennis Gnoni Visconti
Music by: Ramon Kramer | ramonkramermusik.de
Sound Studio: Brauerei Sound | brauereisound.ch
Color Grading Studio: Kamerawerk | kamerawerk.ch
Colorist: Christian Witschi | kamerawerk.ch/team
Production Company: NZZ Format | nzz.ch
Editorial Office: Jörg Walch
Head of NZZ Format: Jörg Walch

16:9, Color