Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-14 (section)

==== 14.4.5.2 Carbon Dioxide Removal ====

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Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) refers to a cluster of technologies, practices, and approaches that remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the ocean and atmosphere and durably store it in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products (Table 12.6). In contrast to SRM, CDR does not necessarily impose transboundary risks, except insofar as misleading accounting of its use and deployment could give a false picture of countries’ overall mitigation efforts. CDR is clearly a form of climate change mitigation, and as described in [[IPCC:Wg3:Chapter:Chapter-12|Chapter 12]] is needed to counterbalance residual GHG emissions that may prove hard to abate (e.g., from industry, aviation or agriculture) in the context of reaching net zero emissions both globally – in the context of Article 4 of the Paris Agreement – and nationally. CDR could also later be used for reducing atmospheric CO 2 concentrations by providing net negative emissions at the global level ( [[#Fuglestvedt--2018|Fuglestvedt et al. 2018]] ; [[#Bellamy--2019|Bellamy and Geden 2019]] ). Despite the common feature of removing carbon dioxide, technologies like afforestation/reforestation, soil carbon sequestration, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, direct air capture with carbon storage, enhanced weathering, ocean alkalinity enhancement or ocean fertilisation are very different, as are the governance challenges. [[IPCC:Wg3:Chapter:Chapter-12|Chapter 12]] highlights the sustainable development risks associated with land and water use that are connected to the biological approaches to CDR. As a public good which largely lacks incentives to be pursued as a business case, most types of CDR require a suite of dedicated policy instruments that address both near-term needs as well as long-term continuity at scale ( [[#Honegger--2021b|Honegger et al. 2021b]] ).

CDR methods other than afforestation/reforestation and soil carbon sequestration have only played a minor role in UNFCCC negotiations so far ( [[#Fridahl--2017|Fridahl 2017]] ; [[#Rumpel--2020|Rumpel et al. 2020]] ). To accelerate, and indeed better manage CDR globally, stringent rules and practices regarding emissions accounting, measuring, reporting and verifying and project-based market mechanisms have been proposed ( [[#Honegger--2018|Honegger and Reiner 2018]] ; [[#Mace--2018|Mace et al. 2018]] ). Given their historic responsibility, it can be expected that developed countries would carry the main burden of researching, developing, demonstrating and deploying CDR, or finance such projects in other countries ( [[#Fyson--2020|Fyson et al. 2020]] ; [[#Pozo--2020|Pozo et al. 2020]] ). [[#McLaren--2019|McLaren et al. (2019)]] suggest that there is a rationale for separating the international commitments for net negative emissions from those for emissions reductions.

Specific regulations on CDR options have been limited to those posing transboundary risks, namely the use of ocean fertilisation. In a series of separate decisions from 2008 to 2013, Parties to the London Convention and Protocol limited ocean fertilisation activities to only those of a research character, and in 2012 the CBD made a non-legally-binding decision to do the same, further requiring such research activities to be limited scale, and carried out under controlled conditions, until more knowledge is gained to be able to assess the risks ( [[#GESAMP--2019|GESAMP 2019]] ; [[#Burns--2020|Burns and Corbett 2020]] ). In doing so they have taken a precautionary approach ( [[#Sands--2018|Sands and Peel, 2018]] ). The London Convention and Protocol has also developed an Assessment Framework for Scientific Research Involving Ocean Fertilisation ( [[#London%20Convention/Protocol--2010|London Convention/Protocol 2010]] ) and in 2013 adopted amendments (which are not yet in force) to regulate marine carbon dioxide removal activities, including ocean fertilisation.

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