Objectives

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) techniques are natural and technological strategies that seek to remove CO₂ and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the atmosphere by storing them through various means. What is the effectiveness of such CDR techniques? Could they result in major environmental disruptions, causing more harm than good?

A comprehensive synthesis of CDR impact on climate and the environment has not been carried out yet. In particular, since no single CDR technique has the potential to achieve the required atmospheric CO₂ decrease, it is becoming increasingly clear that multiple CDR implementations will have to be deployed simultaneously over long periods of time.

By complementing and extending the knowledge and results generated in the H2020 projects LANDMARC and OceanNETs, RESCUE aims at better understanding the potential role of both land- and ocean based CDR methods in future mitigation scenarios.

Our ability to design long-term mitigation scenarios is hampered by the uncertainty in the effectiveness and in the environmental impacts of large-scale CDR implementations. Hence, RESCUE seeks to achieve the following goals:

1) Develop a portfolio of CDR scenarios for the 21st century and beyond so that scientists and policymakers can understand how the climate and the Earth System will respond to GMT stabilisation.

2) On the basis of these scenarios, assess the potential role of CDR in reducing net GHG emissions, as well as its environmental impacts, side effects, and potential co-benefits.