Why CDR Policy Needs a Living Ecosystem Map, Not Static Lists

Carbon dioxide removal has grown from research into a sprawling ecosystem of suppliers, buyers, standards bodies, and funders. A February 2025 snapshot tracked 563 organizations across 49 countries, but the article argues the real bottleneck is not the number of players. It is the lack of shared intelligence about how these actors connect, who funds whom, and where capabilities are missing. Policymakers, grantmakers, and investors still rely on static vendor lists or familiar networks, which leads to duplication and missed opportunities. The authors propose treating a living taxonomy and relationship map as public infrastructure. That means updating roles, flows of capital, contracts, and verification data as the field evolves. The goal is to help decision-makers spot gaps, target funding, and disclose conflicts. This is a practical argument for better coordination in a young sector where technology readiness varies widely, from direct air capture to biochar and ocean approaches.