The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made it clear that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a needed complement to deep and rapid emissions reductions to avoid the worst consequences of climate change and limit temperature rise to 1.5C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement. Ultimately, carbon removal is the only way to reach net-negative emissions and reduce the excess carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere that is causing the climate impacts we’re seeing today. Scaling carbon removal to the needed level we expect requires a concerted effort from policymakers, project developers, civil society, and many others.

Significant progress has been made in the past five years. Carbon removal has evolved from a niche concept to a well-accepted component of climate commitments. While maintaining and increasing natural carbon sinks has long been included in climate plans, now more than 25 of the 72 long-term strategies submitted by parties to the UNFCCC also mention interest or plans to use novel carbon removal approaches (such as direct air capture) to meet their climate goals.

This identified need and growing interest raise important questions about how countries should think about the role of CDR in meeting their climate targets: How much CDR should they plan for? What’s the best way to determine that level? How can mitigation deterrence be minimized? What types of CDR make sense in different locations? What regulatory and governance mechanisms are needed to ensure CDR projects are done responsibly and provide local benefits? How can we build capacity in countries to enable them to scale these technologies?

These questions are particularly relevant as countries are working to develop the next round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and long-term low emission development strategies (LTSs) under the Paris Agreement.

Join us on September 17 for a discussion of these important questions around the role of carbon removal in helping meet climate targets. Speakers will discuss how carbon removal is featured in key climate reports, emerging challenges related to defining its role in climate action, and how countries can and should be thinking about the topic of carbon dioxide removal. We will introduce a recently launched initiative, the Group of Negative Emitters, and discuss its potential role in addressing these questions and ultimately driving ambition to achieve net-negative emissions.

Speakers:

  • Oliver Geden, Senior Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs & Vice-Chair, IPCC Working Group III
  • Asser Berling, Director, Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities, Denmark
  • Harry Smith, Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholar at the University of East Anglia & Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
  • James Mwangi, Co-founder and CEO, Africa Climate Ventures and Founder, Climate Action Platform for Africa
  • Eve Tamme, Managing Director, Climate Principles
  • Katie Lebling, Research Associate, Carbon Removal, World Resources Institute
  • David Waskow, Director, International Climate Initiative, World Resources Institute (Moderator)

Cover image by Climateworks