Full Title: Reaching Climate Objectives – The Role of Carbon Dioxide Removals
Author(s): Energy Transitions Commission
Publisher(s): Energy Transitions Commission
Publication Date: October 27, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
To have a fifty-fifty chance of limiting global heating to 1.5°C, the world must reduce CO2 emissions to around net-zero by mid-century, with a decline of around 40-50% achieved by 2030.1 Understanding this, many countries and companies are now committed to achieving net-zero by either 2050 or 2060. But even in the most ambitious reduction scenarios, cumulative greenhouse gas emissions over the next 30 years are likely to overshoot a carbon budget consistent with limiting global heating to 1.5°C. A significant volume of carbon dioxide removals (CDR) is therefore required to meet the 1.5°C climate objective.
During 2021 the ETC has therefore sought to understand the potential for different forms of carbon dioxide removal and will produce a comprehensive report on their role in climate mitigation strategies early in 2022. This briefing document sets out key emerging conclusions from the analysis to help inform debate on these issues at COP26, following a consultation process that started in May 2021.2 Ultimately, through this work the ETC aims to inform how CDR is considered in the net-zero strategies set by countries and corporates.
The central message is that carbon removals must play a role in climate change mitigation strategies, but this must be in addition to, not instead of, rapid decarbonization efforts. In this insight briefing, we cover in turn.