Policies for Scaling Up Carbon Dioxide Removal in the United States

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) involves the application of chemical or biological processes by which carbon dioxide (CO2) can be removed from the atmosphere and stored in different reservoirs. Those reservoirs include soils, oceans, underground (geologic) storage sites, long-lived wood products, and living biomass like forests.The 2015 Paris Agreement under the auspices of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change established the aim of limiting the global average temperature increase from global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to less than 2.0°C, and as close to 1.5°C as possible, to limit dangerous impacts from climate change. Achieving that aim requires a concerted international effort to reduce GHGs to zero by mid-century. Many analysts have concluded that achieving the Paris temperature limits is infeasible without major increases in CDR, even with aggressive measures to limit GHGs (which have not yet been achieved). Smith et al. (2023); Coalition for Negative Emissions (2021); Environmental Defense Fund (2021); Committee on Developing a Research Agenda for Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration et al. (2019); IPCC (2018). These sources also provide background on the temperature goals; in addition, see IPCC (2018). Furthermore, net negative emissions removal (above and beyond what is achieved by a net-zero economy) will be necessary to reduce the stock of atmospheric CO2 if, as is currently feared, emissions “overshoot” the trajectory for achieving the temperature limits.Smith et al. (2023) describe the lack of national goals for CDR around the world, and the lack of adequate policies to engender rapid and significant advances in CDR capability followed by large-scale installation of CDR. In what follows we summarize what we believe are needed innovations in US CDR policy to achieve these goals. These findings are based on research contained in a recent RFF report (Boyd et al. 2024). A few basic principles underlie the policy suggestions. Public sector support for CDR research, development, and demonstration is needed. However, as technologies mature, public sector support should be scaled back in favor of policies relying on private sector incentives to finance the major buildup in CDR capacity needed. Policy should be based on technology performance and cost of CO2 removal across a portfolio of approaches. However, negative side effects also must be identified and addressed in a timely way. Finally, CDR policy should be designed to take advantage of benefits from coordination with GHG mitigation measures.