How the EU can scale up carbon removal

THE European Union has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, and there are strong signals that EU policymakers will approve a new target to reduce emissions by 90 per cent by 2040. The science is clear on what must be done to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels: rapid and dramatic cuts in emissions and the removal of six to 10 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually. And yet the former receives far more attention than the latter.

This must change – and fast. Removal of atmospheric CO2 will require scaling up investment in carbon-removal technologies from US$5-13 billion today to US$6-16 trillion by 2050. For comparison, this is at least double the amount of revenues generated by the oil and gas industry each year.

Setting aside the moral – one could say existential – obligation to protect the climate, there is a business case for deploying carbon-removal technology across the EU. By 2050, a global carbon-removal industry capable of achieving net-zero emissions could be worth between US$300 billion and US$1.2 trillion.