CDRterra: Research on methods for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere – Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR)
In order to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045, CO₂ must be permanently removed from the atmosphere. The BMFTR funding scheme CDRterra is investigating technologies as well as political, environmental and social issues relating to terrestrial CDR methods.
The Paris Agreement of 2015 set the goal of limiting the increase in global mean temperature to "well below 2 °C" compared to pre-industrial levels and "to pursue efforts" to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 °C. Europe is to be "climate neutral" by 2050. Germany is aiming for greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. However, according to current knowledge, there will remain CO2 emissions in the future that are unavoidable or very difficult to avoid – or that are too cost-intensive to avoid. These emissions occur, for example, in agriculture, some industrial sectors and waste management and must be compensated for by suitable measures in the future. This is emphasised by the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which states that, in addition to the drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, so-called "negative emissions" will also be needed to limit the increase in the global average temperature to 1.5 °C or 2 °C. Negative emissions refer to the active removal of CO2 (carbon dioxide removal, CDR) from the atmosphere and its long-term storage.
The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) has been investing in research on CDR with the CDRterra funding programme since 2021. Various issues with regard to the feasibility and conditions for the implementation of technologies and approaches referred to as "CDR" have not yet been sufficiently researched.
The aim of CDRterra is to investigate terrestrial CDR methods in terms of their large-scale feasibility, as well as their interactions with other sustainability goals and the complex interrelationships within the earth and climate systems. Furthermore, CDRterra aims to conduct a comparative analysis and evaluation of the various CDR methods.
The projects investigate both individual CDR methods and overarching issues relating to political and institutional feasibility, societal acceptance and ethics. The aim is to improve the evidence base for research and climate policy decisions – including those concerning investment in the development or regulation of CDR methods.
Although the potential of these methods still needs to be examined in greater detail, it is highly likely that the achievable quantities will account for only a small proportion of current emissions. Ambitious climate protection through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as adaptation to expected climate change, must therefore continue to be given the highest priority.
Contribution to High-Tech Agenda Germany
The CDRterra funding measure contributes to the German government's ‘High-Tech Agenda for Germany’, particularly in the strategic research field of ‘Marine, climate and sustainability research’ – it is one of the projects that is laying the foundation for new economic momentum through efficient technologies for negative emissions (CDR) and climate neutrality.
Further information on the funding programme and the projects: Link to project website of CDRterra
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