Last Update: 06/03/2026 at 4:25 AM EST
Carbon Removal Scaling Gap
Coverage from Carbon Brief, The Guardian, and others
Articles
3
Latest Article
06/02
Active Days
1
Executive Summary
The latest carbon dioxide removal assessment says global removal capacity must expand far faster to align with 1.5C pathways, especially under overshoot scenarios. Current removals are dominated by land-based methods, while novel approaches remain small, concentrated, and short of the scale needed by 2030 and 2050. The report also highlights major gaps in policy, demand creation, funding distribution, and governance for durable removals.
Basic Facts
- What: Unknown based on available details here
- Where: Unknown based on available details here
- Why: Unknown based on available details here
- Who: Unknown based on available details here
- When: Unknown based on available details here
Key Points
- The report says global carbon dioxide removal is about 2.2 GtCO2 per year, but current plans fall well short of what 1.5C pathways require.
- Most existing removal is conventional land-based CDR; novel methods such as direct air capture, biochar, and BECCS remain a tiny share of total removals.
- The analysis frames the next five years as critical for establishing the role of carbon removal in overshoot and net-zero pathways.
- Policy support is uneven, with the EU singled out as the only bloc with a binding quantified removals target in law.
- Investment and research are growing, but funding is concentrated in a few countries and in a few buyers, especially large corporate procurement.
- Major uncertainties remain around costs, scale potential, measurement, durability, public support, and environmental safeguards.
Featured Article
Researchers report carbon dioxide removal scale-up must accelerate within five years to meet the Paris 1.5C warming limit.
Additional Articles
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A State of CDR assessment finds insufficient current carbon dioxide removal plans for 1.5C, requiring rapid scale-up by 2050 across countries and regions.
The third State of Carbon Dioxide Removal report projects novel carbon removal at 2 million tons in 2025, but requires 70 million tons by 2030 for Paris-aligned goals.