Ampah et al. (2024): Prioritizing Non-Carbon Dioxide Removal Mitigation Strategies Could Reduce the Negative Impacts Associated with Large-Scale Reliance on Negative Emissions
Jeffrey Dankwa Ampah, Chao Jin, Haifeng Liu, Sandylove Afrane, Humphrey Adun, David Morrow, David T. Ho IN: Environmental Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c06866
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is necessary for reaching net zero emissions, with studies showing potential deployment at multi-GtCO2 scale by 2050. However, excessive reliance on future CDR entails serious risks, including delayed emissions cuts, lock-in of fossil infrastructure, and threats to sustainability from increased resource competition. This study highlights an alternative pathway─prioritizing near-term non-CDR mitigation and minimizing CDR dependence. The authors impose a 1 GtCO2 limit on global novel CDR deployment by 2050, forcing aggressive early emissions reductions compared to 8–22 GtCO2 in higher CDR scenarios.