Scaling up Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is an urgent priority, as are efforts to rapidly
reduce emissions, if we are to meet the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. Scenarios
for limiting warming to well below 2°C involve removing hundreds of billions of tonnes of
carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere over the course of the century. Drawing together
analysis across several key areas, this report is the first comprehensive global assessment
of the current state of CDR.
We find a gap between how much CDR countries are planning and what is needed in
scenarios to meet the Paris temperature goal. The size of the “CDR gap” differs across
scenarios, depending on how we choose to transform the global economy towards net-zero
emissions. However, there are currently few plans by countries to scale CDR above current
levels, exposing a substantial shortfall. For the first time, this report compiles an estimate of the total amount of
CDR currently being deployed around the world.
Authors
Stephen M Smith, Oliver Geden, Jan C Minx, Gregory F Nemet, Matthew Gidden, William F Lamb, Carter Powis
- Published in
- United Kingdom
