Back to OurEnergyLibrary search




Scaling Technological Greenhouse Gas Removal: A Global Roadmap to 2050

Scaling Technological Greenhouse Gas Removal: A Global Roadmap to 2050

Full Title: Scaling Technological Greenhouse Gas Removal: A Global Roadmap to 2050
Author(s): Rudy Kahsar, Daniel Pike, Annina Sartor, Gloria See, Isabel Wood, Noël Bakhtian, and Kelly Levin
Publisher(s): Bezos Earth Fund
Publication Date: December 14, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

With our climate at a tipping point, technological greenhouse gas removals has emerged as a new frontier in the solution space. This report presents a roadmap of actions needed to scale greenhouse gas removal by 2050. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, predominantly from human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have led to a host of environmental changes that threaten ecosystems, agriculture, water resources, and human health. In the face of this challenge, the world has mobilized various emissions reduction strategies such as fossil fuel phaseout, the deployment of renewables, reducing deforestation, electrification of end uses, increases in energy efficiency, food system transformation, and industrial decarbonization. These efforts are critical to addressing climate change.

However, reducing emissions will not be enough. There is already a large volume of historical emissions in the atmosphere and oceans, and there are many ongoing emissions processes that will be difficult to fully abate. If the world is to constrain total atmospheric concentrations to levels that avoid the worst impacts to people and the planet (limiting long-term warming to 1.5°C), it will need to remove some of these emissions. For these reasons, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in 2022 that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) — processes that ultimately remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — is unavoidable. Nature-based approaches have significant potential for removals, and in many scenarios they are expected to contribute significantly to the total amount of removals. However, the scale of the removal challenge will also require significant deployments of technological GHG removals, which are the focus of this roadmap. In addition, there are several other planet-warming gases that may also need to be removed.

This roadmap articulates key goals, areas of opportunity, and a path for action. It is a call to all stakeholders to step up, to innovate, to mobilize resources, and to cooperate on the many areas where collaboration and collective action are needed. The challenge of scaling GHGR on a short timeline is daunting, but with deliberate, coordinated effort, it will be possible to ensure that GHGR is ready to play its role in combating climate change and securing a thriving future for people and the planet.

All statements and/or propositions in discussion prompts are meant exclusively to stimulate discussion and do not represent the views of OurEnergyPolicy.org, its Partners, Topic Directors or Experts, nor of any individual or organization. Comments by and opinions of Expert participants are their own.

Sign up for our Press Release Distribution List

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Please sign me up to receive press releases from OurEnergyPolicy.org.