Carbon Removal & Climate Goals | World Resources Institute

As governments commit to reaching net-zero emissions, more countries are counting on natural and technological carbon removal approaches to ... Skiptomaincontent Accessibility QuickLinks Clicktoseemore Mainnavigation Footermenu-secondary MegaMenu Whatcanwehelpyoufind? WaystoGive Joinus ContactanExpert ExploreWRIPerspectives Back AllTopicsRemovefilter ClimatefiltersitebyClimate CitiesfiltersitebyCities EnergyfiltersitebyEnergy FoodfiltersitebyFood ForestsfiltersitebyForests WaterfiltersitebyWater OceanfiltersitebyOcean BusinessfiltersitebyBusiness EconomicsfiltersitebyEconomics FinancefiltersitebyFinance EquityfiltersitebyEquity SearchWRI.org Notsurewheretofindsomething?Searchallofthesite'scontent. Whatcanwehelpyoufind? WaystoGive Joinus ContactanExpert ExploreWRIPerspectives HowareCountriesCountingonCarbonRemovaltoMeetClimateGoals? March16,2022 By CleaSchumerandKatieLebling CoverImageby:Climeworks Explainer Topic Climate Social Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email Print Moreon Climatecarbonremovalcarboncaptureandstorage(CCS) Moreon Climatecarbonremovalcarboncaptureandstorage(CCS) Overthelastfiveyears,morethan80countrieshavecommittedtoreaching“net-zero”emissionsbymid-century.Thismeansreducingemissionsand,insomecases,scalingupcarbonremovalsothesumofemissionsandremovalsequalszero.Whensettingouttoachieveanet-zerotarget,expertsagreethatthemostimportantstepisforcountriestoreduceemissionsasmuchaspossible,asquicklyaspossible. Climeworks’firstcommercialdirectaircapture(DAC)plant,basedinHinwil,Switzerland.Thefansdrawinair,andtheCO2inthatairreactswithchemicalsthatselectivelybindit.PhotobyClimeworks However,leadingreportsfromtheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChangeandothersaffirmthatkeepingtemperaturerisebelow1.5degreesC(2.7degreesF)andavoidingtheworstimpactsofclimatechangewillverylikelyrequirescalingupcarbonremovalcapacity,whichcancomethroughbothnaturalandtechnologicalapproaches.Estimatesindicatethatgloballywemayneedtoremoveupto10billionmetrictonsofcarbondioxideperyearbymid-century—that'sequivalenttothevolumeof4,000,000Olympicswimmingpools. Net-zerocommitmentsarequicklygainingtraction.Butwhatdoesnet-zeromean?Whyisitnet?Andwhyisitnotzero?Imagineabathtubfillingwithwatertofindout⬇️https://t.co/XZuA8NSrMBpic.twitter.com/QncIJhmFcJ—AniDasgupta(@AniDasguptaWRI)February2,2022 So,whatarethesecarbonremovaltechniquesandtowhatextentarecountriescountingonthemastheyprogresstowardtheirlong-termclimategoals? WhatisCarbonRemoval? Carbonremovalincludesarangeofapproachesthatremovecarbondioxide(CO2)directlyfromtheatmosphere.Somefamiliarapproachesaretreeplantingandincreasingcarbonstorageinsoil—nature-basedsolutionswhichleverageandenhancenaturalcarbonsinks.Thesearealreadybeingusedaroundtheworld;however,manyarereadyforbroaderapplicationandwouldbenefitfrompublicandprivatefundingtoscaleupfasterandimproveinventoryandmonitoringcapacity.   Therearealsotechnologicalcarbonremovalapproaches,includingengineeredsolutionsthatacceleratenaturalcarboncyclesordirectlyremoveCO2—likedirectaircapture(DAC),whichuseschemicalstocaptureCO2fromtheairandmineralization,whichspeedsupnaturalreactionsbetweenrocksandCO2intheair.There’salsobiomasscarbonremovalandstorage,*whichusesbiomasstocaptureCO2coupledwithsequestrationoruseindurableproductsandasuiteofocean-basedcarbonremovalapproaches—rangingfromgrowingseaweedandsinkingittothedeepsea,toaddingcrushedrockformineralization,tousingelectricitytodirectlystripCO2fromseawater.Theseapproachestooneedcontinuedresearchfundingtobetterunderstandtheirviability.  Carbonremovalwillbeneeded,likelyatalargescale,toaddress“residualemissions,”orthosethatscientistssaywillbeespeciallychallengingtoeliminatebymid-century—forexample,someemissionsfromlong-haulshippingandaviationandnon-CO2emissionsfromagriculture—andtoaddress“legacyemissions,”orthetotalaccumulatedemissionsintheatmosphere,toloweratmosphericCO2concentrationstosaferlevelsandkeeptemperaturerisewithin1.5degreesC. Hoverovereachapproachtolearnmore: Note:Thisfigureincludescarbonremovalapproachesmentionedincountries’ LTSsaswellasotherleadingproposedapproaches.Note:Thenaturalvs.technological categorizationshownhereisillustrativeratherthandefinitiveandwillvarydependingonhow approachesareapplied,particularlyforcarbonremovalapproachesintheocean. CarbonRemovalinLong-termStrategies Net-zerotargetsarefrequentlycommunicatedvialong-termstrategies(orLTSs),orformalplanssubmittedbycountriestotheUnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange(UNFCCC),thatoutlinetheirplansforprogressingtowardamoresustainablesocietybymid-century.Therearenosetrequirementsforwhatlong-termstrategiesmustcover,butsubmissionsfrequentlyincludealong-termvisionforemissionsreductions,modelledmitigationscenarios,quantitativeandqualitativesectoraltargets,adaptationplans,strategiesforfacilitatingajusttransition,andmonitoring,evaluation,reviewandrevisionplans,amongothers. Ofthe50long-termstrategiesthathavebeensubmittedtodate,47mentionsomeplansforinclusionofnaturalortechnologicalcarbonremoval,with18callingoutspecifictechnologicalcarbonremovalapproaches,andfourmoreconsideringtheuseoftechnologicalcarbonremoval.Withincreasingmomentumforsettingnet-zerotargetsandreachingnet-zeroemissionsbymid-century,theassumptionscountriesareusingtoachievethesegoalsareimportanttounderstand. So,acrossalllong-termplanningdocumentscommunicatedtotheUNFCCC,whatcommonthemesareemerging? 1.DiversenaturalandtechnologicalcarbonremovalsolutionsareincludedacrosstheLTSssubmitted. Whenlookingacrossthe47submittedlong-termstrategiesthatincludecarbonremoval(seemap,above),awidevarietyofbothnaturalandtechnologicalapproachesarementioned.Naturalapproachesthatfrequentlyappearincludeafforestationandreforestation(generallydiscussedinthecontextofbroaderforestmanagementpractices),soilcarbonsequestrationanduseofbiochar(acharcoalmadefrombiomassthatcanbeaddedtosoilandsequestercarbon).  It’simportanttonoteherethatnaturalcarbonremovalisnotanewconceptinemissionsinventoriesandclimatecommitments.Nationalgreenhousegasinventorieshavealwaysincludedbothemissionssourcesandsinks,andemissionsreductiontargetshaveoftenbeensetinnetterms.Recentmomentumaroundreachingnet-zeroemissions,however,hasincreasedtheneedforthesesolutions,andsimilarlyincreasedinterestinnewercarbonremovaltechnologies,justasithasincreasedtheneedforrapidemissionsreductions.  Amongthe18submittedlong-termstrategiesthatmentionspecificcarbonremovaltechnologies,bioenergywithcarboncaptureandstorage(BECCS)ismentionedmostfrequently,in15ofthe18.Directaircaptureismentionedinseven(thoseputforwardbyAustralia,Hungary,France,Japan,Switzerland,theUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStates),carbonmineralizationorenhancedweatheringinfour(Iceland,theU.S.,SwitzerlandandJapan),andocean-basedcarbonremovalintwo(JapanandtheU.S.). JapanandtheU.S.bothincludesomeversionofvirtuallyallproposedleadingcarbonremovalapproaches—bothnaturalandtechnological.Onocean-basedcarbonremoval,Japanisuniqueinalsomentioningspecificapproachesincludingseaweedcultivationandenhancedupwellinganddownwelling. Ultimately,thediversityofapproachesincludedacrossthelong-termstrategiessubmitteddemonstratethatcountriesareconsideringavarietyofoptionstohelpmeetambitiousmid-centuryclimatetargets. Aswellasgrowingextremelyfast,kelpexportsalargeportionofitsbiomassintothedeepsea,allowingittopermanentlyremovecarbondioxidefromtheatmosphere.PhotobyNunoVascoRodrigues/ClimateVisualsCountdown 2.Multiplecountriesquantifyhowmuchcarbonremovalwillberequiredtoreachtheirlong-termgoals,thoughmanydonotdifferentiatebetweentechnologicalversusnaturalapproaches. Tounderstandhowacountrywillachieveitsmid-centuryclimatetarget,it’simportanttolookatthequantityofemissionsreductionsversuscarbonremovalsthatthecountryexpectstorelyon.Communicatingtheseassumptionsinnationalplanningisimportanttoensurenecessarypoliciesareputinplace,theprivatesectorisincentivizedtodevelopandpilotneededtechnologies,andfinancingissecuredforbothemissionsreductionsandremovals. Todate,19countries—rangingfromdevelopingeconomieslikeCambodiaandThailandtodevelopednationsliketheUKandtheU.S.—explicitlyquantifytheamountofcarbonremovalthattheyintendtouseinordertoachievethemid-centurytargetcommunicatedwithintheirlong-termstrategies. Insomecases,estimatesonnaturalcarbonremovalsaloneareprovided.Nepal,forinstance,communicatesitsplanstoremove5.7millionmetrictonsofCO2peryearthroughitslandsinkby2050,whileSpaincommunicatesapercentofitstarget—10%—whichwillbemetthroughnaturalcarbonremovalapproaches.Othercountriesalsodescribetheamountoftechnologicalcarbonremovalspecificallythatwillfeedintotheirtotalreductionsandremovalbalance.TheU.S.long-termstrategy,forexample,notesplanstodeliverabout1billionmetrictonsofcarbonremovalby2050.Landsinkenhancementcontributes1-6%ofthereductionsneededfromthe2005baseline(roughly6.5billionmetrictonsofCO2e)toreachthecountry’snet-zerotarget,andtechnologicalCDRcontributesafurther6-8%. Finally,therearecasesinwhichcountriesdoprovideestimatesforhowmuchcarbonremovaltheyintendtouse,butdonotdistinguishbetweentechnologicalandnaturalcarbonremovalapproaches.InSlovenia’slong-termstrategy,forexample,thegovernmentnotesitsplanstoreduceitsemissionsby80-90%froma2005baseline,leavingtheresidualemissionstobecompensatedforwithremovals.However,it’snotclearwhethertheseremovalswillbeachievedthroughnaturalortechnologicalapproaches.Incaseslikethese,distinguishingbetweennaturalandtechnologicalsolutionswillbeimportantfordrivingtherightpolicyandfinancingsignals. Ultimately,clearlyquantifyingcarbonremovalassumptionsinlong-termstrategieswillbeimportanttoshowthatcountriesarenotavoidingemissionsreductionstodayinexchangeforoverrelianceoncarbonremovalinfuturedecades.Thiscanhelpprovideclarityaroundthemoralhazardconcernthatcountriesareplanningtousefuturetechnologies,someofwhicharenotyetcommercializedandwillthemselveshavearangeofotherimpacts,ratherthandoingtheworkofemissionsreductionstoday,whichisoftenlesscostlyandcouldhelpavoidsignificantenvironmentalandsocialdamageexpectedfromovershooting1.5degreesC(2.7degreesF). Naturalcarbonremovalapproachesfeatureprominentlyinmanycountries’commitmentstomitigateclimatechange.TheHocesdelRíoDuratónNatureReservewillhelpcontributetoSpain’snaturalcarbonremovaltargetof10%.PhotobyJoan/Flickr 3.Substantivedetailsonthedevelopment,financinganddeploymentofcarbonremovalplansarenotcommunicatedinmostLTSs. Whilemanynaturalcarbonremovalapproachesarealreadybeingusedacrosstheworld,developinganddeployingabroaderportfoliooftechnologicalandnaturalcarbonremovalsolutionswillrequiresubstantialandrobustplanning.Toscaletheseapproaches,policythatdrivesdevelopmentmustbeputinplace,financingneedstobesecured,equityconcernsandenvironmentalimpactsneedtobeaddressed,permanentstorageandusecasesforremovedcarbonneedtobeexplored,andmore. However,acrossthe50long-termstrategiessubmittedtodate,planstoaddressthesetopicsandothersaretypicallyminimal. Severalcountriesdoprovidesomeinformationaboutinitiativestheyarelaunchingtosupportdevelopmentanddeploymentofcarbonremoval.TheUKlong-termstrategy,forexample,includescommitmentsto"deliver£100millioninnovationfundingforDirectAirCarbonCaptureandStorage(DACCS)andothergreenhousegasremovalstrategies"and"seekanamendmenttotheClimateChangeActtoenableengineeredremovalstocontributetoUKcarbonbudgets.”Meanwhile,Singaporenotesinitslong-termstrategythatitwill“explorepartnershipswithcompaniesandothercountrieswith[geologicalformationssuitableforstoringremovedcarbon]”giventhelackofpermanentstorageoptionswithinitsdomesticterritory.Thesecasesarepositiveexamplesfromwhichothercountriescanlearn.However,furtherplanninginthesecountriesandinothersthatintendtorelyoncarbonremovaltechnologieswillberequiredfordrivingaction. What’sMissingandWhatDoWeNeedtoSeeNow? Ascountriesincreasinglysetnet-zeroandotherlong-termclimatetargets,itwillbecriticalforgovernmentstotransparentlycommunicatewhatportionoftheirtargetistobeachievedthroughemissionsreductionsandwhatremainingportionistobeachievedwithcarbonremovalfrombothnaturalandtechnologicalapproaches.Moreover,providingdetailsaboutthekindsofcarbonremovaltechnologiescountriesexpecttouse,theamountofcarbonremovaltheyintendtodeploy,andthepolicyandfinancingmechanismsthattheywillimplementtodrivedevelopmentanduseoftheseapproachescanhelpprovidecredibilityandclaritytothetarget. Increasingbothnaturalandtechnologicalcarbonremovalwillberequiredtounlockanet-zerofuture,butthoroughandcomprehensivedetailsofcountries’planstousethesetechnologiesareoftentimeslackingintheplanstheysharewiththeinternationalcommunity.Toensurethatcarbonremovaltechnologiesarescaledanddeployedresponsiblybymid-century,transparentplanningtodayisparamount.   ENDNOTES: *Biomasscarbonremovalandstorageincludesbutisbroaderthanbioenergywithcarboncaptureandstorage(BECCS),whichisoftenincludedinclimatemodels.   InteractiveGraphicsbyRosieEttenheim RelevantWork Climate 6WaystoRemoveCarbonPollutionfromtheSky Insights June9,2020 Climate WhattoKnowAbout5BigPlansforUSCarbonRemoval Insights February8,2022 Climate 6ThingstoKnowAboutDirectAirCapture Insights May2,2022 Climate LeveragingtheOcean'sCarbonRemovalPotential Insights October8,2020 HowYouCanHelpWRIreliesonthegenerosityofdonorslikeyoutoturnresearchintoaction.Youcansupportourworkbymakingagifttodayorexploringotherwaystogive. 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