From being expensive and dangerous, to being warmly welcomed

As usual, the viewpoint of the individual, including their basic assumptions, is crucial for the conclusions they arrive at. Over the years, industrial CDR (such as Bio CCS and DACCS) has been warned against as a costly or dangerous ‘distraction’, to becoming increasingly welcomed and is now frequently mentioned as a requirement for achieving climate goals. This is similar to the change in opinion over time around CCS. Before 2020, while the EU’s climate goal was an 80-95% reduction in greenhouse gasses by 2050 compared to 1990, there were many industrial organisations that strongly believed that CCS would not be needed before 2050. But since an ever increasing share of the global economy is now subject to a goal of net-zero emissions (now: 80%), the public discourse has changed dramatically in a short space of time – on CCS, CCU and CDR. That said, it cannot be guaranteed that any industrial CDR will be fit for purpose. The laws of physics, limited natural resources and the need to be profitable will continue to limit what can be realistically achieved. 

The strategy under development could include a goal of 5Mt CO₂ stored each year through industrial CDR

One important development worthy of mention is the EU strategy currently in preparation which could include a goal of 5Mt CO₂ stored each year through industrial CDR. During COP26 in November, the USA announced an initiative to remove 1 Gt CO₂ from the atmosphere (CDR) at a cost of less than $100/tonne by 2050. And in November the Swedish Energy Agency delivered its recommendation to the Swedish government of a support system to remove up to 2 million tonnes of CO₂ per year fro the atmosphere through Bio CCS by 2030.

In November, the IEA released its updated assessment on the status of DACCS and also recently published an article with recommendations as to how member nations could realise the potential BECCS represents. In their ‘Net Zero 2050’ scenario, the IEA says of DACCS that close to 90 Mt CO₂ per year will need to be extracted by 2030. According to the IEA, one of the steps that public authorities can take to promote a market for CDR is to buy CO₂ reductions directly from businesses offering it.