Soterroni et al. (2025): Assessing Potential Implications of the EU’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Strategy on Brazil’s Land Ecosystems and Local Communities
Soterroni, Antonella Mazzone, Jiesper Tristan, IN: Environmental Science & Policy, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104154
The European Union (EU)’s commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 relies significantly on Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) strategies, yet implications of such approaches for the Global South remain unclear. Here the authors reflect on how land-based CDR ambitions in the EU—particularly BECCS—may generate disproportionate pressures on ecosystems and communities in countries like Brazil, which have become a focal point for climate mitigation due to their biophysical potential and geopolitical ties. Although Brazil is not formally committed to providing land-based offsets to the EU, its significant potential to host large-scale afforestation and BECCS projects renders it a useful case study for exploring these dynamics.