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Analysis and Environment

At this rate, carbon dioxide removal will never matter for the climate

The carbon dioxide removal industry is struggling to grow at the pace needed to have a significant role in meeting climate targets

By James Dinneen

30 May 2025

If greenhouse gas emissions aren’t curbed, carbon dioxide removal won’t make a difference

YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images

The nascent carbon dioxide removal industry expects to hit a milestone this year: 1 million tonnes of planet-warming CO2 removed from the atmosphere. That certainly is progress, but things aren’t moving anywhere near quickly enough to remove the billions of tonnes of carbon researchers say we need to capture annually in coming decades.

“It’s not scaling up as fast as it would need to if we are…

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