Foundational Questions on Carbon Removal in the United States

This working paper, part of the World Resources Institute's CarbonShot series, serves as a primer for U.S. policymakers on the role, risks, and necessity of carbon removal to meet global climate targets.

• Carbon removal is defined as the process of removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it to reduce atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas and limit global temperature rise.
• Global emissions pathways indicate that emissions reduction measures alone are insufficient to meet Paris Agreement temperature targets; it is necessary to remove CO2 at the gigaton scale, meaning billions of metric tons per year globally.
• Because the full potential of individual carbon removal technologies remains uncertain and each faces specific limitations and pitfalls, a portfolio-based approach is recommended to increase the chances of achieving large-scale benchmarks.
• Carbon removal presents a trade-off between potential benefits—such as improved agricultural productivity, soil health, and new industries—and risks, including the loss of natural ecosystems or the displacement of food production if deployed without proper safeguards.
• There is a policy debate regarding whether carbon removal will distract from emissions reduction efforts by consuming scarce resources or if it will expand the climate policy agenda by attracting new stakeholders and resources.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Foundational Questions on Carbon Removal in the United States. https://www.wri.org/research/foundational-questions-carbon-removal-united-states

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Foundational Questions on Carbon Removal in the United States. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/foundational-questions-carbon-removal-united-states.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Foundational Questions on Carbon Removal in the United States |url=https://www.wri.org/research/foundational-questions-carbon-removal-united-states |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendfoundational, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Foundational Questions on Carbon Removal in the United States}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/foundational-questions-carbon-removal-united-states}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }