With the headline “Con la forza del sole” [With the force of the sun], the Vatican newspaper devoted the most prominent front-page article in its July 6 edition to Cambridge scientists’ creation of clean, sustainable fuels from air and plastic waste.
The research, published on June 19, has received scant attention in the British and American press.
“Researchers have demonstrated how carbon dioxide can be captured from industrial processes – or even directly from the air – and transformed into clean, sustainable fuels using just the energy from the sun,” according to a statement released by the university. “The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, developed a solar-powered reactor that converts captured CO2 and plastic waste into sustainable fuels and other valuable chemical products.”
Federico Citterich, who wrote the Vatican newspaper article, commented that the research “could prove crucial in trying to combat climate change and pollution, two giants that threaten the stability of our planet.”