Countries are relying on forests and soil to absorb their remaining carbon – it’s a risky way to reach net zero

(The Conversation, 6 Mar 2023) Countries are betting on forests and soils to mop up their remaining “difficult-to-decarbonise” emissions to achieve their climate targets. More forests and better soils are good for nature and for adapting to climate change, but this strategy may prove a risk to the global goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Substantial emission cuts across the global economy are required to stay on course with global temperature targets. Reaching net zero, however, will also involve removing CO₂ from the atmosphere and storing it, a process known as carbon removal.

The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claimed that carbon removal will be “unavoidable” for balancing out the continued emissions from “difficult-to-decarbonise” sectors, such as aviation and agriculture. In our new paper, we examined how governments plan to pursue carbon removal in their national climate strategies.

We examined all national climate strategies published in English before 2022, totalling nearly 4,000 pages across 41 strategies. We found that the majority did not estimate how much of their emissions would be difficult to decarbonise in 2050.

External link

The Conversation, 6 Mar 2023: Countries are relying on forests and soil to absorb their remaining carbon – it’s a risky way to reach net zero

More Related News

Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

16 Apr 2024: Reaching climate neutrality by 2045 “unrealistic” for Germany without CCS – research academies

12 Apr 2024: EU Parliament approves deal on world’s first carbon removal certification scheme

9 Apr 2024: Forest carbon accounting allows Guyana to stay net zero while pumping oil

2 Apr 2024: ExxonMobil accused of ‘greenwashing’ over carbon capture plan it failed to invest in

11 Mar 2024: EU-wide carbon removal certification deal is important step towards climate targets - German ministry

4 Mar 2024: France strikes CO2 storage deal with Denmark

1 Mar 2024: Germany to adopt 2060 target for net-negative greenhouse gas emissions

27 Feb 2024: Berlin launches ‘milestone’ strategies to capture and remove CO2 permanently

26 Feb 2024: Germany to support CCS for industry, allow offshore carbon storage with upcoming strategy

6 Feb 2024: Q&A: The EU industrial carbon management strategy

1 Feb 2024: German carbon capture row heightened by EU’s draft 2040 climate plan