Why is carbon removal essential for climate goals?

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Carbon Removal is Indispensable for Achieving Climate Targets

The extraction of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, through both natural methods like afforestation and advanced technological solutions, is deemed crucial for meeting global climate change mitigation objectives. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has indicated that substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions alone will not suffice to attain the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement. Consequently, the deployment of "carbon dioxide removal" (CDR) technologies is presented as an unavoidable necessity for achieving net-zero emissions.
CDR is a Necessary Component for Limiting Global Warming

The IPCC report underscores that CDR is an essential element in scenarios designed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while also pursuing efforts to restrict the temperature rise to 1.5C. Without these removal strategies, achieving the Paris Agreement's temperature targets becomes significantly more challenging, especially as global temperatures have already risen by approximately 1.1C, leading to increased extreme weather events and sea-level rise.
Diverse CDR Approaches Exist, Each With Drawbacks

CDR encompasses a range of methods, including natural solutions such as planting trees and managing soils and oceans to absorb carbon. However, even these natural approaches present challenges, such as competition for land resources and vulnerability to climate impacts like droughts and wildfires. Technological solutions, such as Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS), are also highlighted. BECCS involves capturing emissions from the burning or processing of biomass, while DACCS directly extracts CO2 from the ambient air, though it is characterized by high costs and significant energy demands.
Technological CDR Faces Skepticism and High Costs

The deployment of nascent technologies like BECCS and DACCS has drawn criticism from some environmentalists who fear they may divert attention from the imperative for deep emissions cuts and may not prove effective. DACCS, in particular, is complicated by the low concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, approximately 0.04%. For instance, while Stripe is paying US$775 per tonne for CO2 extracted by Climeworks' DACCS plant in Iceland, the price for forest carbon has historically been much lower, rarely exceeding US$10 per tonne.
Significant Scale of CDR Required by Mid-Century

The IPCC estimates that to limit warming to 2C, cumulative CO2 removal between 2020 and 2100 could range significantly across different methods. These estimates include 328 billion tonnes by BECCS, 252 billion tonnes through forestry, and 29 billion tonnes by DACCS. For context, annual global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 were equivalent to 59 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, illustrating the substantial scale of removal required to offset residual emissions.

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Why is carbon removal essential for climate goals?

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