How to govern carbon dioxide removal: an assessment framework for policy instruments

Global climate governance aims to limit global warming to ‘well below 2°C’. Achieving this goal, with or without overshoot, necessitates the deployment of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) measures. However, the purely voluntary implementation of CDR by companies is unlikely to be sufficient due to its currently limited economic attractiveness. As a result, policy instruments are essential to incentivize CDR implementation. Such policy instruments could include regulations, taxes, voluntary agreements, information instruments, or subsidies. In this paper, we introduce a comprehensive assessment framework designed to evaluate the feasibility and desirability of various policy instruments for governing CDR. The framework is structured around 15 criteria, some of which are value-based, and organized into six key dimensions of interest. This framework is suitable for application at different stages of policy deliberation, planning, and development. It can be utilized by policymakers, legislators, and administrators, as well as stakeholders aiming to influence the direction of CDR governance. The framework can serve as a tool for promoting transparent and well-justified decisions regarding the adoption and implementation of CDR policy instruments. It explicitly highlights value judgments and explores the linkages, synergies, and trade-offs between assessment criteria and policy objectives. Additionally, it supports the creation of narratives about feasible and desirable CDR governance futures, ensuring that a broad range of values is considered. Ultimately, the framework expands the deliberative space, enhancing the quality of decision-making and enabling the exploration, discussion, and selection of viable CDR governance pathways.Policymakers and those seeking to influence policymaking can use the framework presented here to comprehensively define how CDR should be governed and to assess whether a policy instrument may meet those expectations.The framework facilitates transparent and well-justified decision-making regarding CDR policy instruments by explicitly evaluating the feasibility and desirability of CDR policies and how these features are interconnected.The framework facilitates the development of narratives about feasible and desirable future CDR governance.An assessment using this framework provides valuable insights for improving or complementing policy instruments, and for necessary changes to CDR policies.The framework supports structuring and widening the range of considerations that inform the development and assessment of CDR policy ideas.