A new report from more than 50 scientists finds that global carbon dioxide removal (CDR) must increase fourfold by 2050 to meet the 1.5C Paris target. Current CDR stands at 2.2 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, but the gap to what is needed is over 5 billion tonnes annually by mid-century. Nearly all current CDR comes from conventional land-based methods like tree planting and forest restoration. Novel techniques such as biochar and direct air capture account for only 2 million tonnes per year, though they are growing at 40% annually. The report stresses that CDR is not a substitute for deep emissions cuts and must be deployed alongside them.
