QUNO’s Human Impacts of Climate Change programme has published a new briefing paper titled “Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR): What is Sustainable and Just?”. Written by Dr. Duncan McLaren (UCLA, USA) and Dr. Olaf Corry (University of Leeds, UK), two academic experts on environmental law, international politics and geoengineering, this briefing paper is a key resource for understanding the risks of reliance on CDR.
The paper provides an overview of carbon dioxide removal practices and risks, and evaluates if there are just and sustainable levels for the use of these methods and technologies. Discussing geo-political, ethical and equity consequences to the mitigation choice of CDR, it highlights uncertainties surrounding the prospects of implementing large-scale CDR and the role it could play in threatening biodiversity and human rights. Exploring false narratives and misleading climate modelling portraying large-scale CDR reliance as a ‘techno-fix’, the authors ask what is ‘sustainable and just’, what is unsafe, and highlight approaches which can equitably and effectively transform root causes while avoiding reliance on unsustainable and unjust techno-fixes.
This is a critical issue, one increasing in importance as the costs and assumptions associated with CDR are reflected in climate models and governments lay out long term plans that increasingly rely on CDR approaches as opposed to reduction of root causes. This paper fills a crucial information gap by examining the feasibility, effectiveness, safety, sustainability, legality and ethics of CDR implementation.
This report was supported with grant funding from the European Climate Foundation. The publication and any conclusions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the European Climate Foundation.
Please find a link to the full briefing paper on QUNO’s website here: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR): What is Sustainable and Just? A PDF version of the report is also available below.
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