CO2-removal News

Peer-reviewed Publications

Searchinger et al. (2026): Decades of Increased Emissions from Forest-Fueled BECCS

Timothy Searchinger, Liqing Peng, Daniella Russi and Charles Canham, IN: Research Square, https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9038129/v1

Should climate policies encourage bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) using wood from existing forests? Although mitigation pathways in integrated assessment models often rely on BECCS fueled by energy crops, European governments are moving to financially support BECCS sourced instead from existing forests. To estimate its emissions and financial costs, the authors develop a model that transparently tracks carbon flows from forest to end use and allows policymakers to easily alter assumptions.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Johnson & Staffell (2026): Democratizing climate change mitigation pathways using modernized stabilization wedges

Nathan Johnson and Iain Staffell, IN: Science, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr2118

Mitigating climate change is arguably society’s greatest challenge. Deep-decarbonization pathways envision radical transformations in how we produce and consume energy, goods, and services. Integrated assessment models have produced thousands of cost-optimal pathways, underpinned by millions of assumptions. Enacting any pathway requires broad societal buy-in; however, the barriers to producing and interpreting these pathways exclude most people from the conversation, sidelining societal preferences and debate. In this work, the authors complement these models with a simple, inclusive framework for comparing diverse mitigation strategies and constructing decarbonization pathways that reflect personal priorities and values.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Chen et al. (2026): Direct air capture enabled by low-grade thermal energy via hot water regeneration of a ligand-exchange sorbent

Hao Chen, Xinkai Wu, Haibo Liu, Hang Dong and Arup K. SenGupta, IN: Chemical Engineering Journal, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.174640

Direct air capture (DAC) offers a geographically flexible pathway toward negative emissions, yet its large-scale deployment remains constrained by the high energy demand and operational complexity of sorbent regeneration. While substantial effort has focused on lowering regeneration temperatures, most existing DAC systems remain poorly matched to the largest and most underutilized fraction of industrial waste heat: low-grade (<100 °C) liquid heat streams, such as hot water. This mismatch arises because conventional sorbents are primarily designed for gas-phase or dry-state regeneration. Such processes often require vacuum operation, inert sweep gases, or repeated dehydration-rehydration cycles. Here, the authors systematically evaluate a direct liquid-phase DAC regeneration strategy enabled by a hybrid polymeric ligand exchanger (Poly-LigEx-Cu²⁺), specifically designed to operate under hydrothermal conditions at ambient pressure.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

te Pas (2026): Towards “set-in-stone” co-deployment of enhanced rock weathering and biochar: an experimental study on their CO₂ removal and agronomic co-benefits

Emily E.E.M. te Pas, IN: Wageningen University, https://doi.org/10.18174/681512

To limit global temperature rise well below 2⁰C, Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) Removal (CDR) strategies, such as Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) and biochar, are urgently required. Besides CDR, ERW releases nutrients and trace metals, while biochar surfaces may bind these weathering products. The main objective of this research was to experimentally study whether and through which processes ERW, and biochar co-deployment, can promote carbon sequestration, while limiting trace metal risks and providing agronomic co-benefits.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Gao et al. (2026): Intensified direct air capture of CO₂ by integrating a tailor-made water-lean absorbent with high-gravity technology

Zexiang Gao, Kerui Li, Wangxin Jian, Hao Qin, Youzhi Liu and Weizhou Jiao, IN: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2026.121972

The acceleration of global industrialization has sharply increased CO₂ emissions, highlighting the urgent need for efficient and energy-saving carbon capture technology. Direct air capture (DAC) has emerged as a pivotal negative-emission strategy for advancing decarbonization within the chemical industry. However, conventional DAC absorption processes are hindered by high solvent regeneration energy, low mass-transfer efficiency, and large equipment size. To address these challenges, an innovative DAC strategy that integrates high-gravity technology with a tailor-made water-lean absorbent is proposed.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Satterfield et al. (2026): Thinking at the megaton scale: Community reflections across three different marine carbon-dioxide removal strategies

Terre Satterfield, Sara Nawaz, Devin Todd, Kendra Jewell and Pieter Romer, IN: Energy Research & Social Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2026.104628

Investigations of marine carbon dioxide removal are unfolding rapidly as countries seek net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. A key priority for interdisciplinary research is public engagement in system design, social conditions, and acceptance. Social scientists warn that ‘large-scale’ proliferation—at megaton or gigaton levels—raises distinct challenges. Yet most work examining CDR has relied on simplified descriptions with little attention to scale. This study examines public reflections on three depictions of marine CDR deployed at ‘scale’ in British Columbia, Canada. Scaled descriptions included material, transportation, and energy needs, along with spatial requirements for generating 2MT of annual removals for each of three technologies: (1) ocean alkalinity enhancement; (2) direct air capture of CO₂, with sub-seabed mineralization for storage; and (3) macroalgae cultivation and sinking.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Tu et al. (2026): Bioinspired Bacteria-Induced CO₂ Adsorption for In Situ Wood Mineralization

Kunkun Tu, Muze Han, Jinjing Liu, Ronghua Yu, Jiayi Li, Jie Wang, et al., IN: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6c01877

Wood is a sustainable carbon-storage material that is widely used in construction and packaging. However, its intrinsic flammability restricts its application. Existing flame-retardant modifications either rely on toxic chemicals or generate byproducts. In contrast, bioinspired microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation offers a solution to this challenge. In this study, a facile method was developed for the in situ growth of Bacillus mucilaginosus (B.m.) on the wood porous structure.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Bourban (2026): Overshoot and recover? On the problem of substitution between negative emissions and emissions reductions

Michel Bourban, IN: Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, https://doi.org/10.1177/09632719261421916

The remaining global carbon budget is so small that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) measures are very likely to be required to avoid dangerous climate change. Multiple scenarios consistent with a high probability of limiting global warming to well below 2 °C include removing hundreds of gigatons of carbon dioxide. At the same time, deep decarbonization pathways show that rapid and drastic emissions reductions can substantially reduce or even avoid the need for CDR. This article discusses one major problem raised by pathways relying on large-scale CDR: By potentially discouraging or at least delaying the implementation of deep decarbonization measures, such pathways might cause a substantial overshoot of the global carbon budget that would lead to severe injustices.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Zhou et al. (2026): Supporting Blue Carbon Accounting: A Process-Based Productivity Model for Global Salt Marshes

Zhuoya Zhou, Tingting Li et al., IN: Environmental Science & Technology, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c05527

Coastal salt marshes (CSMs) are vital blue carbon (BC) reservoirs, yet accurately quantifying their gross primary productivity (GPP) remains challenging due to limitations in terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs), which often overlook coastal-specific processes. Here, the authors present SAL-GPP, a process-based model that incorporates coastal-specific modules to capture the effects of salinity and temperature stress on photosynthesis, as well as light-use efficiency across salinity gradients in diverse CSM plant species.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Mili et al. (2026): Back to Nature or Technology to the Rescue? Climate Managers’ Preferences for Investment in Carbon Dioxide Removal

Sabrina Mili, Robert Mai, Rolf Wüstenhagen and Moritz Loock, IN: Business Strategy and the Environment, https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70715

Firms are increasingly looking into carbon dioxide removal (CDR), a set of options to take past emissions of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Often two basic categories of CDR are distinguished: nature-based solutions, such as planting trees or restoring wetlands, and technology-based solutions, such as various forms of carbon capture and storage. What drives managers’ decisions to purchase a particular CDR credit? A choice experiment with N = 378 climate managers in three European countries conducting 4158 experimental choices explores factors determining their procurement.

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