G7 key forum for pioneering cooperation on carbon removal – researchers

The Group of Seven (G7) large industrial democracies can be a key forum for “pioneering new cooperation” on carbon dioxide removal (CDR), wrote researchers from Germany and Norway in a joint paper. The group had demonstrated its effort to shape global climate policy agendas, and several members have already implemented or announced policies on carbon removals, “creating fertile ground for new cooperation”, wrote Felix Schenuit, Oliver Geden and Glen Peters. The nations, which were responsible for a large share of historical emissions, are also expected by other countries to ensure the breakthrough and application of relevant technologies.

Policy on CDR is evolving rapidly across the globe but remains fragmented, write the researchers, who make recommendations for how to develop robust policies. These should ensure credible monitoring, reporting and verification; would have to be well-embedded in existing climate policies; should be linked to net-zero goals and be able to ensure net-negative emissions; and strengthen international cooperation on research, demonstration and deployment.

Scientists see carbon removals as necessary to counterbalance residual emissions, for example from agriculture and industry, to reach net zero targets and net-negative greenhouse gas emissions thereafter. Currently, the only relevant CO2 sinks are natural, such as forests, marine ecosystems, or other land-based ecosystems. However, novel CDR methods will also be needed, such as capturing CO2 directly from the air and storing it underground permanently (Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage, DACCS). Germany is working on a long-term strategy on negative emissions.