Scientists warn that achieving global warming within 1.5°C requires not only robust carbon reductions but also accelerated deployment of carbon dioxide removal. On the 20th, scientists, led by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford, released the "State of Carbon Dioxide Removal" report, the world's first independent scientific assessment tracking carbon removal.
The Global Carbon Removal Report estimates that current land-based carbon removal—through traditional methods such as afforestation and forest restoration—is approximately 2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The report estimates that annual carbon removal will need to reach 4 gigatonnes by 2050. Depending on the warming scenario, the gap between targets is expected to emerge by 2030 and will gradually widen.
Planting trees is also carbon removal – carbon reduction has specific targets, and carbon removal must keep pace
Unlike carbon capture and storage (CCUS), carbon removal (CDR) involves capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it permanently—for decades or millennia—in the form of land, oceans, rock formations, and products. How can carbon removal help us achieve our climate goals? The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report last April stating that carbon dioxide removal is an essential and critical element in limiting global warming to 1.5°C or below 2°C.
Unlike carbon capture and storage (CCUS), carbon removal (CDR) involves capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it permanently—for decades or millennia—in the form of land, oceans, rock formations, and products. How can carbon removal help us achieve our climate goals? The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report last April stating that carbon dioxide removal is an essential and critical element in limiting global warming to 1.5°C or below 2°C.
"Carbon removal is not something we 'can do' but something we 'absolutely must do'. Only in this way can we achieve the temperature targets of the Paris Agreement," said Dr. Oliver Geden of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and author of the report "Global Status of CO2 Removal."
Another report author, Gregory Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, explained at the report release press conference that good decision-making and progress require sufficient data, just as human society developed renewable energy 25 years ago, first with the Renewable Energy Policy Network 21 (REN 21) and then the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The same is true in the field of carbon removal. It is hoped that this report will help to enhance the balance of understanding among all parties.
Report: New carbon removal technologies must catch up significantly, relying on policy to lay the foundation
Carbon removal comes in many forms. The Global Carbon Removal Report, the first global-scale comprehensive review of all carbon removal methods, includes both traditional carbon removal (CDR) and the developing novel carbon removal (novel CDR). The former refers to land-based carbon removal, such as afforestation, forest restoration, and habitat restoration; the latter encompasses all non-terrestrial carbon removal methods, such as the already deployed "carbon capture plants" that physically capture carbon directly from the air and store it.
New carbon removal methods are not without controversy. Professor Annette Cowie of the University of New England in Australia cites the promising potential of carbon capture plants (DACCs), which rely on external energy supplies. Ocean fertilization raises ecological concerns. Biochar can absorb pollution, but improper handling also carries the risk of heavy metal contamination. As for blue carbon, which uses biomass such as salt marshes, mangroves, and seaweed to store carbon dioxide, academics believe it is not yet mature, has uncertain costs, and lacks advantages.
According to information provided by the Taiwan Science and Technology Media Center, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at National Tsing Hua University, Tan Junsong, stated that Taiwan's net-zero pathway aims to capture 4 million tons of carbon by 2030 and 40.2 million tons by 2050. Currently, carbon capture is only in the pilot phase, and achieving these goals will be extremely challenging without the coordination of policies, regulations, environmental assessments, technology, finance, fiscal policy, and land resources.
Li Jianming, a professor at the Graduate Institute of Natural Resources and Environmental Management at National Taipei University, said in an interview that Taiwan must keep up with emerging international carbon removal technologies, otherwise it will affect its net-zero path. Currently, domestic CCUS remains in the demonstration stage, and coal-fired and gas-fired power plants should be evaluated for the full installation of carbon capture equipment.
Compared to carbon reduction targets, governments' carbon removal commitments are relatively low. The report warns that the next decade will be a crucial formative period for the full development of new carbon removal technologies. Aaron Tang, a doctoral student at the Australian National University's School of Environment and Society, stated that in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are updated every five years, Australia's climate agency will recommend that carbon removal targets be proposed independently, allowing both carbon emission reduction and carbon removal goals to be pursued in parallel. "This is crucial for both political momentum and social acceptance."
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/235961)
