The State of CO2 Removal, 2024
A global, independent scientific assessment led by the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise.
This report is a collaboration led by;
- Oliver Geden (German Institute for International and Security Affairs, SWP)
- Matthew J Gidden (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, IIASA)
- William F Lamb (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, MCC)
- Jan C Minx (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, MCC)
- Gregory F Nemet (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
- Stephen M Smith (University of Oxford)
Jennifer Wilcox, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania outlines the goal and scope of the report in her foreword;
"As the impacts of climate change are taking place in real time across the world today, the scientific consensus is becoming increasingly clear that in addition to reducing emissions and meeting our global climate goals we will need to remove CO2 from the accumulating pool in the atmosphere. This report provides important insights to the novice and CDR enthusiast-alike, who want to understand where CDR stands today and what challenges need to be addressed to scale the industry.
The authors of The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal Edition 2 report represent a diverse mix of perspectives with expertise spanning climate science, engineering, economics, and policy. The report also includes several authors with deep expertise in social science, which will be increasingly important as CDR projects move beyond R&D and toward demonstrations where they begin to grapple with the real-world challenges associated with effective community engagement and project siting. In addition, given that decarbonization efforts will be taking place in parallel to CDR, it becomes critically important to consider land, water, and low-carbon energy resources and prioritizing emissions reductions first and foremost, so that CDR scale-up does not limit the pace of overall decarbonization.
This report establishes the building blocks needed to responsibly estimate the scale of CDR achievable, in the timeframe needed, and that will exist along with other decarbonization efforts. It highlights the myriad components that will be critical as we continue building out and scaling up CDR over the next decade. CDR is no one’s first choice for climate restoration - it is the contingency, the backup plan. We know we will need it, but it is still unclear what its true scale of application will ultimately become."
