Governing large-scale carbon dioxide removal: are we ready?

The IPCC SR 1.5°C bolsters the case for pursuing the lower end of the Paris Agreement’s temperature goal, and makes clear that it is no longer sufficient to reduce emissions alone – CO2 will also need to be removed from the atmosphere, on a scale never previously attempted. But is the international community prepared for the implementation of Carbon Dioxide Removal options at this unprecedented scale? This report finds that while a number of reporting rules and accounting practices are already in place with direct applicability to the implementation of CDR options, many governance gaps remain.