A bunch of 68 scientists, including some from the University of Pennsylvania, teamed up for a new report. It’s called “Roads to Removal: Options for Carbon Dioxide Removal in the United States.” The report dives deep into figuring out how the U.S. can get rid of carbon dioxide (CO2) and aims to hit net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The goal is to make the U.S. more climate-resilient and secure by cleaning up the air and tackling the main reasons for climate change. The report breaks down the available methods for CO2 removal and looks at how much it’s going to cost to reach the net-zero target. It’s like a roadmap for the U.S. to deal with climate change and keep things in check.
Carbon removal
“This report shows that to achieve the billion-ton scale of carbon dioxide removal needed by 2050 to achieve net-zero goals, the United States must use all removal methods available—oceans, forests, cropland soils, biomass and minerals and chemicals through direct air capture—to make it happen,” the researchers explain.
The report wraps up by saying that using today’s tech, getting rid of 1 billion metric tons of CO2 each year will cost around $130 billion in 2050. That’s about 0.5% of our current GDP. To make this happen, we need to boost the amount of carbon in forests and working farms, turn leftover plant stuff into fuels and CO2, and use special machines to suck CO2 straight from the air.
This combo of the most cost-effective methods for CO2 removal could also create over 440,000 long-term jobs. Plus, it can all run on renewable energy, using the land we have now and some underground storage tricks. The Roads to Removal report gets super specific, giving decision-makers a close look at opportunities in their own areas. This helps them make choices that suit their communities best.
What makes this report stand out is its reliable estimates of costs and impacts. Unlike past studies that used big-picture models, this one dives into bottom-up calculations. It uses the latest info on how much resources, money, and impact each CO2 removal method needs, right down to the county level.
Roads to Removal highlights specific chances in different spots for managing soil and forests, turning plant waste into useful stuff, and using machines to catch CO2 from the air. It also covers the best ways to transport CO2 and throws in considerations for fairness and the environment. All this info is like a toolbox for making decisions on CO2 removal projects, helping everyone from local groups to states figure out what works for them.
