The European Union is debating whether to include carbon dioxide removal (CDR) as part of its 2030 targets on the road to climate neutrality by 2050. In our view, creating sustainable CDR could allow delivery of negative emissions at scale after 2030. An independent scientific body will need to assess whether EU climate policy is consistent with the targets and whether near-term targets are suitable for achieving longer-term goals. It must incorporate social science into its assessments because techno-economic feasibility might not be the main constraint for many CDR options. The coming decade should herald a public conversation about the acceptability of the different possibilities.

This opinion article led by David Reiner, University of Cambridge, and co-authored by NEGEM partners, was published on the 7th of January in Nature vol 589. 

This report reviews the role of NETPs in mitigation scenarios and presents a preliminary NEGEM vision, based on a literature review and on the vision workshop organized in December 2020.

As part of the activities of NEGEM, a rigorous sustainability assessmentof the most promising types of NETPs is being carried out by researchers at ETH Zurich. In this context, the researchers have first conducted a preliminary screening of the current and emerging NETPs described in the literature, then they have elaborated aseries of Key Performance Indicators.

In November 2020, Bellona Europa and Carbon Market Watch hosted a virtual workshop aimed at highlighting four proposed principles to define Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and at analysing how these would be applied in practice.

This event set the ground for developing a clear, shared, medium-to-long term vision on NETPs, with a focus on their sustainable potentials and on their role in contributing to the climate targets at EU and global levels.

The International Energy Agency announced that it will produce the world’s first comprehensive roadmap for the energy sector to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The new special report, will set out in detail what is needed from governments, companies, investors and citizens to fully decarbonise the energy sector and put emissions on a path in line with a temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, calls for decisive action this year: “The energy that powers our daily lives produces three-quarters of global emissions. Making all of that energy carbon-neutral by 2050 is a Herculean undertaking for our economies and societies that goes well beyond simply setting long-range targets. Our roadmap to net zero can play a vital role in helping countries identify and implement the actions needed to achieve climate, energy security and affordability goals. Nothing short of a total transformation of our energy infrastructure will be required. That calls for decisive action this year, next year and indeed every year to 2050”. 

Tesla Inc chief and entrepreneur Elon Musk announced last January on Twitter to promise a $100 million prize for the development of the “best” technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions.