SPECULATIVE BETS IN CARBON REMOVAL

The document examines carbon mineralization and enhanced root crops as potential carbon removal strategies. Carbon mineralization, which uses reactive materials to form solid carbonate minerals, could remove 410 MtCO2 per year if one-third of the construction aggregate market shifted to mineralized aggregate. Enhanced root crops, though theoretical, could sequester up to 185 MtCO2 per year across 249 million acres of major U.S. crops. Both technologies face significant research and development hurdles and require sustained federal funding to resolve unknowns regarding scalability, environmental impacts, and commercial viability.

• Carbon mineralization involves accelerating natural reactions between atmospheric carbon dioxide and reactive sources, such as silicates or rocks rich in magnesium and calcium, to create solid carbonate minerals. One economically viable application is the production of synthetic building and construction materials, such as concrete aggregate; shifting one-third of the construction aggregate market to this mineralized version could remove 410 MtCO2 annually.
• While mineralization using industrial waste and reactive mining materials is initially lower in cost than direct air capture, costs increase at larger scales due to logistical constraints and the need to mine reactive minerals. Key uncertainties include the availability of economically accessible source materials, life-cycle carbon impacts, and potential negative environmental effects.
• Enhanced root crops aim to increase soil carbon sequestration by developing plants with larger and deeper root systems through gene editing, genomic selection, or the creation of perennial versions of annual crops. The theoretical potential for this approach in the United States is up to 185 MtCO2 per year across 249 million acres of major crops, though this depends on achieving root sizes similar to perennial grasses.
• The primary barriers to the deployment of enhanced root crops include the need to maintain crop yields and taste, the speed of the breeding process for wide-scale deployment by 2050, and uncertainties regarding seed costs and public perception.
• To advance these technologies, the document suggests federal research and development funding of approximately $25 million per year for carbon mineralization and $40–50 million per year, sustained over a decade or more, for enhanced root crops.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). SPECULATIVE BETS IN CARBON REMOVAL. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/carbonshot-speculative-bets-carbon-removal.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. SPECULATIVE BETS IN CARBON REMOVAL. n.d. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/carbonshot-speculative-bets-carbon-removal.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=SPECULATIVE BETS IN CARBON REMOVAL |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/carbonshot-speculative-bets-carbon-removal.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendspeculative, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{SPECULATIVE BETS IN CARBON REMOVAL}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/carbonshot-speculative-bets-carbon-removal.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }