The report outlines key actions for the EU to accelerate the deployment of carbon dioxide removals, emphasising their potential to drive innovation, restore ecosystems and create economic opportunities, while ensuring environmental and social safeguards.
Climate change is already disrupting ecosystems, infrastructure, and food and energy security across Europe and the world. 2024 was the warmest year on record since 1850. Alongside deep emissions cuts, removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is essential to halting global warming, stabilising the climate and curbing the most severe impacts of climate change.
The EU is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 – and eventually net-negative emissions, where removals exceed emissions. With the ongoing decline in the EU’s carbon sink – the capacity of its natural systems, like forests and soils, to absorb and store CO2 – and the slow rollout of new removal methods, current trends underscore the urgent need for a strong policy response to scale up removals across the EU to counterbalance residual emissions from activities that currently have no or limited mitigation alternatives.
To achieve its climate targets, the EU must quickly scale up carbon dioxide removals while pursuing deep emissions cuts. With the right incentives, a dynamic policy mix can speed up innovation and strengthen the EU’s position in the global race for cleantech leadership.