Carbon removals experts warn humanity will not survive without rapid scaling of CDR technology at London Climate Action Week

thechemicalengineer.com

by solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 points

At London Climate Action Week, carbon removal experts warned that humanity will not survive if we wait to scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technology. A roundtable discussion brought together policy, finance, and industry leaders to address the urgent need for rapid deployment of CDR alongside fossil fuel phase down. The State of CDR report estimates 6-13 Gt/year of CO2 removal is needed by 2050 to limit warming to 1.7C. Key voices at the event stressed that targets alone are not enough without delivery plans. Steve Gummer of Sharpe Pritchards called for treating the next phase as a national infrastructure program with faster consenting, bankable revenue models, and grid upgrades. The Carbon Capture and Storage Association echoed the need for accelerated CCUS and greenhouse gas removal deployment to build competitive low-carbon industries.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Good to see CDR getting serious airtime at London Climate Action Week. The 6-13 Gt/year target by 2050 is massive. We are nowhere near that scale with current projects.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

Agreed. The 500,000 t/year DAC plants are a start but that is a rounding error compared to what is needed. The real question is how to fund the scale up without locking into bad tech too early.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Also worth noting that CDR alone buys us a fraction of a degree. The article is clear on that. We still need rapid fossil phase down. CDR is a supplement, not a substitute.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The 'targets not enough' bit from Gummer is the key takeaway. Faster consenting, bankable revenue models, grid access. Those are the actual bottlenecks, not the ambition level.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Grid access is going to be a huge issue for DAC and BECCS plants. They need reliable low carbon power to run. If the grid can't deliver, these projects sit idle. Interconnection timelines matter.