FAQ: Why separate carbon removals from other climate targets?
This explainer answers key questions related to the topic of carbon removals, the principle of separate targets, and their implications for implementation.
Why do we need a target for permanent carbon removals?
As re-confirmed by leading climate scientists in October, there is no alternative to near-term emission reductions to limit damage to our planet, ecosystems and people. However, there is a need to prepare for an environmentally sustainable removals capacity that can help reach climate equilibrium in the future.
No place for carbon removals in emissions reduction policies
Reducing emissions must remain the priority for policymakers, and should not be conflated with safeguarding natural carbon sinks or the sustainable usage of permanent removals. Carbon removals policy expert Fabiola De Simone explains.
UN Secretary General is right: Carbon removals are no “silver bullet”
CMW applauds United Nations’ Secretary General António Guterres’s calls for the safe and sustainable use of carbon removals while warning that these technologies were not a “silver bullet” and cannot substitute deep emissions cuts.
Climate inaction by proxy
Our investigation into Occidental Petroleum’s heavy investment, including taxpayers’ money, in untested direct air capture reveals the huge dangers involved in misusing carbon removals as a substitute for genuine climate action.
CMW’s response to the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body consultation on removal activities and broader methodological rules
Numerous changes are particularly needed in the Supervisory Body’s draft recommendations regarding removal activities, including with regard to the need for: long-term monitoring, a science-based process to determine reversal risk, clarifications on how reversals are remediated, and strengthened safeguards to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples. For more information, including Carbon Market Watch’s text proposals, please consult our full submission.
Why carbon offsetting should die out but healthy carbon markets should live on
Is offsetting fine if it is done with highly durable carbon removal credits? Sabine Frank weighs the pros and cons.
EU’s underwhelming 2040 climate target shifts responsibility to future generations
EU’s underwhelming 2040 climate target shifts responsibility to future generations
EU’s 2040 climate target: The case for separate carbon removals and emissions reductions
With the European Commission set to release its proposed 2040 climate target for the EU on 6 February 2024, it is imperative that policymakers get the design right by separating carbon removals from emissions reductions,
