Tag: CDR

Peer-reviewed Publications

Yao & Zhang (2025): Life Cycle Assessment in the Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of Land-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Gaps and Opportunities

Yuan Yao, Bingquan Zhang IN: Environmental Science & Technology, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c09510

The paper examined recent Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) protocols published by main carbon registries, focusing on four critical land-based CDR methods: bioenergy combined with carbon capture and storage, biochar, enhanced rock weathering, and afforestation and reforestation. The authors compared the carbon accounting and environmental impact assessment methods employed in these LCA studies and MRV protocols to identify their methodological similarities and differences. The analysis of the paper reveals that the LCA community can support MRV protocols by providing critical insights into baselines, additionality, uncertainty, multifunctionality, environmental safeguards, holistic emission factors, and overlooked carbon pools.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Wey et al. (2026): CMIP6 Models agree on similar carbon cycle feedbacks between enhancing terrestrial and marine carbon sinks

Hao-Wei Wey, Yiannis Moustakis, Tobias Nützel, Andreas Oschlies, Jörg Schwinger, Tomohiro Hajima, Rosie Fisher, Tilo Ziehn, Spencer K Liddicoat, Tronje Peer Kemena IN: IOP Science, DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/adc617

In this study, the authors compare two complementary approaches that enhance the terrestrial and marine carbon sinks with afforestation and reforestation (A/R) and ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), respectively, under the high emission scenario SSP5-8.5. Eight CMIP6 Earth system models are utilized, enabling a quantification of both inter-model and internal variability. By mid-century, simulated large-scale deployment of A/R and OAE individually reduces atmospheric CO₂ concentrations by up to 20 ppm. For both methods, while carbon removal from the atmosphere is robust, it is difficult to detect the effects on global mean temperature, posing challenges for monitoring, reporting and verification of mitigation efforts. To quantify the carbon cycle feedbacks, we define the carbon cycle feedback ratio of A/R (OAE) as the ratio of changes in the marine (terrestrial) sink to changes in the terrestrial (marine) sink.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Gaucher et al. (2025): Leveraging ecosystems responses to enhanced rock weathering in mitigation scenarios

Yann Gaucher, Katsumasa Tanaka, Daniel J. A. Johansson, Daniel S. Goll & Philippe Ciais IN: Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58284-6

The authors analyze the role of EW under cost-effective mitigation pathways, by including the CDR potential of basalt applications from silicate weathering (geochemical CDR) and enhanced ecosystem growth and carbon storage in response to phosphorus released by basalt (biotic CDR). Using an integrated carbon cycle, climate and energy system model, they show that the application of basalt to forests could triple the level of carbon sequestration induced by EW compared to an application restricted to croplands.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Oh et al. (2025): Review of Economics and Policies of Carbon Dioxide Removal

Soyoung Oh, Jenna Greene, Matthias Honegger, Axel Michaelowa IN: Current Sustainable Renewable Energy Reports, 12, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40518-025-00252-1

Despite the increasing political attention and support, the high costs of many carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies remain a barrier to their large-scale deployment. The authors provide an overview of the economics for two key CDR options – BECCS and DACCS – and review proposed and existing CDR policies to address the “CDR gap” in achieving the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Helmrich et al. (2025): Reactive transport simulation of organic and inorganic carbon cycling following carbon dioxide sorption onto soil amendments in drylands

 Stefanie Helmrich, Alexandra Jo Ringsby, Kate Maher IN: Frontiers in Climate Change, doi: 10.3389/fclim.2025.1505472

Drylands cover approximately 45 % of the global land area and are threatened by soil degradation, necessitating the deployment of CDR methods for drylands that also promote soil health. Soil amendments with high CO2 sorption capacity, such as biochar, could provide CDR potential and soil health benefits in drylands provided they do not negatively impact the large inorganic carbon pools typical of dryland soils. The dynamics of soil CO2 are therefore critical for assessing the response of dryland systems to sorbing amendments. To assess the soil response to CO2 sorption, we developed a 1D reactive transport model of unsaturated soils in equilibrium with dissolved inorganic carbon and calcite under varying soil respiration rates and soil amendment application conditions.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Nature – Komkhum et al. (2025): Carbon dioxide removal from triethanolamine solution using living microalgae-loofah biocomposites

Tanakit Komkhum, Teerawat Sema, Zia Ur Rehman, Pichaya In-na IN: Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90855-x

Amine solvents are commonly used for CO2 capture with high efficiency and absorption rates. However, solvent regeneration consumes an extensive amount of energy. One of alternative approaches is amine regeneration through microalgae. Recently, living biocomposites, intensifying traditional suspended cultivation, have been developed. With this technology, immobilizing microalgae on biocompatible materials with binder outperformed the suspended system in terms of CO2 capture rates. In this study, living microalgae-loofah biocomposites with immobilized Scenedesmus acuminatus TISTR 8457 using 5%v/v acrylic medium were tested to remove CO2 from CO2-rich triethanolamine (TEA) solutions.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Prütz et al. (2025): Imputation of missing land carbon sequestration data in the AR6 Scenarios Database

Ruben Prütz, Sabine Fuss, Joeri Rogelj IN: Earth System Science Data, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-221-2025

The AR6 Scenarios Database is a vital repository of climate change mitigation pathways used in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment cycle. In its current version, many scenarios in the database lack information about the level of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) removal via land sinks, as net-negative CO2 emissions and gross removals on land are not always separated and are not consistently reported across models. This makes scenario analyses focusing on CO2 removal challenging. The authors test and compare the performance of different regression models to impute missing data on land carbon sequestration for the global level and for several sub-global macro-regions from available data on net CO2 emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Javadi et al. (2024): The impact of regional resources and technology availability on carbon dioxide removal potential in the United States

Parisa Javadi, Patrick O’Rourke, Jay Fuhrman, Haewon McJeon, Scott C Doney, William Shobe, Andrés F Clarens IN: Environmental Research: Energy 1, 045007, https://doi.org/10.1088/2753-3751/ad81fb

Using the global change analysis model for the United States (GCAM-USA), the authors modeled six classes of CDR and explored their potential using four scenarios: a scenario where all the CDR pathways are available (Full Portfolio), a scenario with restricted carbon capture and storage (Low CCS), a scenario where the availability of bio-based CDR options is limited (Low Bio), and a scenario with constraints on enhanced rock weathering (ERW) capabilities (Low ERW). 

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Nature – Adun et al. (2024): Near-term carbon dioxide removal deployment can minimize disruptive pace of decarbonization and economic risks towards United States’ net-zero goal

Humphrey Adun, Jeffrey Dankwa Ampah, Olusola Bamisile, Yihua Hu, Iain Staffell, Haris R. Gilani IN: Communications Earth & Environment, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01916-4

The authors quantify how different carbon removal methods and their deployment timing affect achieving net zero emissions by 2050 in the United States.

LINK

#
Peer-reviewed Publications

Nature – Liu et al. (2024): Strong El Niño and La Niña precipitation—sea surface temperature sensitivity under a carbon removal scenario

Chao Liu, Soon-Il An, Zixiang Yan, Soong-Ki Kim, Seungmok Paik IN: Communication Earth & Environment, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01958-8

Here, the authors identify distinct hysteresis features in the precipitation-sea surface temperature sensitivity between strong El Niño and La Niña phases using a large ensemble carbon removal numerical simulation. The strong El Niño precipitation sensitivity exhibits a century-scale hysteretic enhancement and eastward shift, mainly due to modulated deep convection anomalies by the Intertropical Convergence Zone via cloud-longwave feedback.

LINK

#