Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in the biosphere (plants, soils), geosphere (rocks, underground), the ocean or in products. CDR takes many forms, from planting trees and restoring seagrass meadows to using engineered means to scrub CO₂ directly from the air and oceans.

While reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains the most urgent priority, CDR is an additional, complementary action that we must take. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states “the deployment of CDR to counterbalance hard-to-abate residual emissions is unavoidable if net zero greenhouse gases emissions are to be achieved”. We need CDR and emission reductions.

It’s important to highlight that Carbon Removal is different to Carbon Capture. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) are processes whereby CO₂ is captured from a point source such as from a flue stack connected to a coal power plant and stored or used to create products. In CDR the CO₂ is captured from the atmosphere. As such carbon capture is a type of emissions reduction because they reduce emissions that would have been emitted rather than removing emissions that have already been emitted.

WHY DO WE NEED CDR?

Achieving the Paris Agreement’s goals to pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels” means reducing our emissions to as close to zero as possible and compensating all residual emissions with an equal amount of carbon removal.

It also requires us to cap the total amount of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere. We can think of this as our carbon budget. In 2020, the IPCC estimated a remaining carbon budget of 500 billion tonnes, giving us a 50% chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C. To put this into perspective, in 2022 we added 37 billion tonnes of CO₂ to the atmosphere.

Even our most ambitious reduction targets see us overshooting this budget. Removals can be used to make up for this overshoot. If used in tandem with rapid carbon emission reductions, CDR provides a means to keep 1.5°C alive.

Getting to scale

Some methods of CDR, such as reforestation and afforestation, can be implemented relatively quickly and at a lower cost. Other methods, such as direct air carbon capture and storage, are still in the early stages of development and will require investment and research to become cost-effective at scale. To achieve the necessary levels of carbon removal, we need to deploy a diverse portfolio of different CDR solutions. These can be big and small across all regions, from peatland restoration to large-scale regenerative agriculture.

It's important to consider the environmental and social impacts of different CDR methods, as well as the potential unintended consequences. For example, reforestation can have positive impacts on biodiversity but can displace local communities.

Getting the most from CDR

How can organisations get the most from CDR? Here are our top four recommendations:

How Deloitte can help

We are helping companies to engage responsibly with carbon removals as part of their wider decarbonisation efforts across the lifecycle of CDR.

From creating the removal in the first place, to aligning with best practice or integrating CDR into corporate strategy, we can support you on your journey.

To find out more please contact a member of our team.