WHY SEPARATE CARBON REMOVALS FROM OTHER CLIMATE TARGETS?

Carbon Market Watch advocates for replacing 'net' climate targets with three distinct targets: gross emissions reductions, biogenic sequestration in natural sinks, and permanent carbon dioxide removals (CDR). The guide explains that 'net' targets often mask a lack of progress in emissions reductions by relying on uncertain or temporary removals. It distinguishes between permanent technical solutions, such as direct air capture and carbon storage (DACCS), and temporary natural solutions like reforestation. The document argues that separate targets prevent 'mitigation deterrence' and provide better governance of the finite resources required for CDR. While some progress is noted in Germany and Sweden, the author urges the European Commission to adopt this three-target approach in its upcoming 2040 climate target proposal.

• Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is defined as the extraction and permanent storage of atmospheric CO2, where the amount removed significantly exceeds the emissions produced during the process. For storage to be considered permanent, the CO2 should not be re-emitted for several centuries.
• The document distinguishes between three types of CDR: natural solutions (e.g., protecting ecosystems and reforestation), technical solutions (e.g., direct air capture and carbon storage or DACCS), and mixed processes (e.g., terrestrial enhanced weathering). Natural sinks are classified as temporary in accounting terms due to the risk of carbon loss from human or natural disturbances.
• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) are frequently mislabelled as CDR; however, they are not removals because they capture emissions from polluting sites rather than from the atmosphere.
• The IPCC identifies three essential roles for CDR to meet the 1.5°C warming limit: supplementing emission reductions before net zero, balancing residual emissions to achieve net-zero, and exceeding annual emissions to achieve net-negative emissions for global temperature drawdown.
• Setting separate targets for gross emissions, biogenic sequestration, and permanent removals prevents 'mitigation deterrence,' where the hope of future CDR capacity slows current climate action. It also ensures that removals are not used interchangeably with emissions reductions, as removals cannot undo the broader environmental damage caused by fossil fuel extraction.
• Current global policy frameworks often lack clarity, with a 2023 analysis of 20 countries showing that few acknowledge removals as merely supplementary to emissions reductions. In the EU, the 2030 target is a 'net' target (55% reduction compared to 1990), though it limits the LULUCF contribution to 225 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
• Germany has announced plans for a separate 'technical' removals target alongside land-based targets. Sweden has identified minimum emission reductions for its 2045 net-zero target, but does not clearly separate biogenic sequestration from permanent removals.

APA

De Simone, F. (2025). WHY SEPARATE CARBON REMOVALS FROM OTHER CLIMATE TARGETS? Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/FAQ-on-separate-targets.pdf

Chicago

De Simone, Fabiola. WHY SEPARATE CARBON REMOVALS FROM OTHER CLIMATE TARGETS? Carbon Market Watch, 2025. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/FAQ-on-separate-targets.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=De Simone |first1=Fabiola |title=WHY SEPARATE CARBON REMOVALS FROM OTHER CLIMATE TARGETS? |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=January 2025 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/FAQ-on-separate-targets.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{desimone2025why, author = {De Simone, Fabiola}, title = {{WHY SEPARATE CARBON REMOVALS FROM OTHER CLIMATE TARGETS?}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/FAQ-on-separate-targets.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }