Research priorities for negative emissions

Fuß, S., Jones, C.D., Kraxner, F., Peters, G.P., Smith, P., Tavoni, M., van Vuuren, D.P., Canadell, J.G., Jackson, R.B., Milne, J., Moreira, J.R., Nakicenovic, N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7176-4604, Sharifi, A., & Yamagata, Y. (2016). Research priorities for negative emissions. Environmental Research Letters 11 (11) p. 115007. 10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/115007.

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Abstract

Carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere (CDR)—also known as ‘negative emissions’—features
prominently in most 2 °Cscenarios and has been under increased scrutiny by scientists, citizens, and
policymakers. Critics argue that ‘negative emission technologies’ (NETs) are insufficiently mature to
rely on them for climate stabilization. Some even argue that 2 °Cis no longer feasible or might have
unacceptable social and environmental costs. Nonetheless, the Paris Agreement endorsed an
aspirational goal of limiting global warming to even lower levels, arguing that climate impacts—
especially for vulnerable nations such as small island states—will be unacceptably severe in a 2 °C
world. While there are few pathways to 2 °Cthat do not rely on negative emissions, 1.5 °Cscenarios
are barely conceivable without them. Building on previous assessments of NETs, we identify some
urgent research needs to provide a more complete picture for reaching ambitious climate targets, and
the role that NETs can play in reaching them.

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