Durable Carbon Dioxide Removal: A Key Part of Mitigation or a Dangerous Distraction?

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is often considered to be an important component of deep decarbonization scenarios, both to deal with residual emissions to reach "net-zero" and to compensate for the increasingly inevitable overshoot of the 1.5C temperature target. However, it is also a source of considerable controversy, with critics arguing that it is extremely costly and could divert resources from more cost-effective mitigation options in the near-term, as well as being used as a justification for the continued reliance on fossil fuels. This talk will explore the role of CDR and the duration of resulting carbon storage in mitigation scenarios, as well as moral hazard concerns around mitigation deterrence, and suggest paths forward for the community to responsibly approach the development and deployment of CDR technologies.