What exactly is a “carbon removal”? This commentary in Carbon Management explores divergent definitions and seeks to clarify current debates by proposing a four-way classification system for activities that remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Experts widely agree that removing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is critical for achieving the temperature change goals set forth in the Paris Agreement.
But “removal” is used to refer to many different activities, which can cause confusion when policymakers, investors and carbon credit buyers consider which technologies to support.
The authors of this article parse the different meanings of “removals” and set forth a way to classify removal-related activities based on their characteristics. They contend that each activity can help mitigate climate change.
Other publication / This paper introduces a Mitigation Intervention statement to better quantify the real impacts of corporate climate actions beyond traditional GHG inventories.
Other publication / Governments, in aggregate, still plan to produce far more fossil fuels than would be consistent with limiting global warming to between 1.5ºC and 2ºC.
Other publication / SEI experts contributed to this publication from the UN discussing options to manage reversal risks of carbon crediting programmes.
