CO₂-removal News

Science-Policy Documents

Schübel (2023): Individuals’ responsibilities to remove carbon

Hanna Schübel IN: Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2023.2260241

In this paper, the author argues for two concepts of individual responsibility to capture the moral responsibility of individuals to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through CDR technologies. The first is that of liability, a direct responsibility to remove carbon in order to minimize one’s carbon footprint. The second is a shared political responsibility to remove carbon that individuals have by virtue of being part of weak collectives responsible for mitigating climate change or by virtue of participating in structures that contribute to climate change. 

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Hernández-León (2023): The biological carbon pump, diel vertical migration, and carbon dioxide removal

Santiago Hernández-León IN: iScience, 107835, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107835

Several marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) technologies were proposed to slow down CO2 in the atmosphere. Technologies now under experimentation are related to the increase in gravitational flux. Other mechanisms such as active flux, the transport performed by diel vertical migrants (DVMs) were not considered. The authors review the effect of DVMs in the epipelagic realm and the top-down promoted by these organisms upon zooplankton and microzooplankton, and their variability due to lunar cycles.

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German News

Protest gegen umstrittene CCS-Technik – Anhörung im Landtag

dpa, sueddeutsche.de, September 2023, 17:28 Uhr

„Gegen eine Nutzung der umstrittenen CCS-Technik zur unterirdischen Speicherung von Kohlendioxid in der Nordsee haben Umweltschützer am Mittwoch vor dem Landtag in Kiel demonstriert. Aus Anlass einer Expertenanhörung im Parlament erklärte ein Bündnis des BUND mit Organisationen wie Fridays for Future und Greenpeace, dass CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) große Risiken für Umwelt und Natur berge. Zudem sei die Technologie volkswirtschaftlicher Unsinn, behindere die Energiewende und nehme die Möglichkeiten des biologischen Klimaschutzes nicht wahr.“

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Science-Policy Documents

White Paper: Carbon Dioxide Removal Policies for a Net Zero Switzerland and Beyond

Nicoletta Brazzola, Samuel Eberenz, and Matthias Honegger with contributions by Viola Becattini, Regina Betz, Stephanie Bischof, Cyril Brunner, Marie-Valentine Florin, Roman Hüppi, Kristina Koch, Aymeric Reymond, Juanita von Rothkirch, Hanna Schübel, Katrin Sievert; CDR Swiss White Paper. Risk
Dialogue Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland, September 2023

The Swiss Carbon Removal Platform (CDR Swiss) hosted by the Swiss Risk Dialogue Foundation has facilitated the work on this White Paper. It is the product of the collaboration between some of the members of the Swiss Carbon Removal Platform and thus conveys the different views and knowledge on CDR policy of experts from academia, NGOs, administration, and industry. This White Paper offers an overview of key considerations in the development and implementation of policies to mobilize carbon dioxide removals (CDR) towards the Swiss goal of reaching Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

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German News

CCS: Risikoabwägung im schleswig-holsteinischen Landtag

Constantin Gill, ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein, 27.09.2023 18:03 Uhr

„Die CCS-Technologie ist umstritten, aber Wissenschaftler sehen sie als Möglichkeit, zumindest einen Teil der CO2-Emissionen zu drücken. Im Landtag haben die Abgeordneten Experten aus verschiedenen Bereichen angehört und Input bekommen – auch aus Dänemark, wo inzwischen auf CCS gesetzt wird.“

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Zeeshan et al. (2023): Direct air capture of CO2: from insights into the current and emerging approaches to future opportunities

Muhammad Zeeshan, Michelle K. Kidder, Emily Pentzer, Rachel B. Getman, Burcu Gurkan IN: Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1167713

The authors provide a mini review of the current research on the emerging liquid- and solid-based sorbent materials to capture CO2, summarize the existing challenges of DAC technologies, and suggest future research directions to accelerate the development of DAC systems. In particular, the desired properties for a breakthrough sorbent that efficiently captures CO2 from the air and releases it for sequestration are described.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Maddala et al. (2023): A study of the mechanical, thermal, and environmental properties of cementitious materials with added biochar

Padmakar Maddala, Subhash Chandra, K. Venkata Ramesh IN: Journal of Aeronautical Materials, https://www.hkclxb.cn/article/view/2023/2-411.html

This article provides a thorough analysis of the existing literature regarding the mechanical, thermal, and environmental characteristics of cementitious materials that contain biochar as an additive. Due to their potential to enhance the mechanical properties of concrete, biochar-infused cementitious materials have been the focus of recent research. It has been demonstrated that biochar, a carbon-rich substance created by roasting biological substances without oxygen, has a number of beneficial characteristics, including the capacity to enhancesoil fertility and sequester carbon. 

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Guo et al. (2023): Improving food security and farmland carbon sequestration in China through enhanced rock weathering: Field evidence and potential assessment in different humid regions

Fuxing Guo, Haowei Sun, Jing Yang, Linsen Zhang, Yan Mu, Yanping Wang, Fuyong Wu IN: Science of The Total Environment, 903, 166118, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166118

This study focused to evaluate the crop productivity and carbon sequestration potential of farmland ERW in China by conducting field monitoring in different humid regions and ERW performance model. Additionally, the contribution of climate, soil, and management factors to ERW-mediated yield and carbon sequestration changes was explored using random forest and correlation networks.

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Reports

Report: How to avoid carbon removal delaying emissions reductions

by Robert Höglund, Eli Mitchell-Larson and Sylvain Delerce, Carbon Gap

This report aims to enable policy-makers and practitioners to responsibly accelerate carbon removal deployment while avoiding mitigation deterrence risks. It provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and proactively addressing potential mitigation deterrence across three key use cases of carbon removal as defined by the IPCC. Based on this analysis, tailored solutions are proposed to remove the factors encouraging mitigation deterrence and establish the guardrails needed to limit its impact.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Yi & Xu (2023): The potential of China’s ecosystems in meeting the carbon neutrality goal: evidence from the forest sector

Yuanyuan Yi, Jintao Xu IN: China Economic Journal, 16, 2, https://doi.org/10.1080/17538963.2023.2244277

The authors show the cost-effectiveness of using forests as Nature-based Solutions pathways that offset carbon dioxide (CO2). Afforestation and reforestation expand forest cover, sustainable forest management increases forest productivity, and substituting carbon-intensive materials with wood products avoids the CO2 emitted in the production processes of these materials.

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