International policy workshop series on the science of CDR and policy needs

RESCUE's organised a policy workshop series in September 2024, providing a platform for exchange between carbon dioxide removal (CDR) researchers and policy experts. The series aimed to improve the understanding of key research questions on CDR and the uncertainties and limitations of models, while gaining a better overview of needs and questions on CDR in the policy context to limit warming to 1.5°C. The series consisted of two webinars, followed by a hybrid workshop taking place in Berlin, Germany and online.

The workshop series saw participation from around 30 scientists and policy experts at each event, from RESCUE research institutions, EU DGs, and NGOs and think tanks.

The first webinar was science-focused, providing an overview of the RESCUE project, as well as the model types used under RESCUE, what questions and level of granularity they are able to address, and where limitations lie. The presentations covered Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), Earth System Models (ESM), and Emulators and simple climate models.

Next, the second webinar focused on policy, giving an overview of some key policies and policy processes on CDR at the EU and international level, what are current questions, and how science can inform them as well as be informed by them. The presentations covered the international climate policy context of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5°C and the role of CDR, an introduction to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, an overview of key EU policies relevant for CDR, and the EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Certification (CRCF) Regulation.

The final event in the series was the hybrid workshop in Berlin, where the science and policy perspectives were brought more closely together. The workshop kicked off with a keynote address on The State of CDR Report, and saw presentations of preliminary results from RESCUE. These covered an Integrated Assessment of CDR in overshoot and non-overshoot mitigation pathways, the complexity of policy mixes and MRV for EU Carbon Farming, and leveraging ecosystem responses to enhanced weathering. Breakout discussions centered around the information needs of stakeholders with regards to the presented input, and feedback that RESCUE is able to take up from stakeholders.

Participants in RESCUE's workshop in Berlin, including consortium members and policy experts

Finally, the RESCUE project will continue to enable a science-policy dialogue through a range of activities, which include a policy brief and side event contribution at COP29, which will take place in November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, as well as a policy roundtable in 2025.