He et al. (2026): Temporary carbon dioxide removal to offset short-lived climate forcers
Yue He, Keywan Riahi, Matthew J. Gidden, Shilong Piao, Tao Wang and Thomas Gasser, IN: Nature, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10607-3
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is considered for achieving the long-term temperature objectives of the Paris Agreement and national net-zero emission targets1,2,3,4,5. The durability of these CDR methods varies widely, ranging from decades to theoretically permanent6. Temporary CDR dominates present deployment, whereas permanent solutions face further feasibility and cost challenges at scale1. However, efforts to integrate temporary CDR into climate policies have relied on equivalency assumptions between temporary and permanent CDR that contradict physical climate science: temporary CDR cannot fully offset COâ‚‚ emissions as permanent CDR can6,7.