We just published a new book chapter: “Carbon dioxide removal: climbing up the EU climate policy agenda“. Together with Oliver Geden I contributed a chapter to the Handbook on European Union Climate Change Policy and Politics edited by Tim J. Rayner, Kacper Szulecki. Andrew J. Jordan, and Sebastian Oberthür.

After the adoption of a EU-wide net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target, the issue of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is climbing up the EU climate policy agenda. Based on an analysis of CDR-related aspects of the Climate and Energy Framework 2030 and new actor positions in the context of the European Green Deal, the chapter traces the emergence CDR policymaking in the EU. We find that CDR is not entirely new in EU climate policy. Recently, spurred by the new climate target structure in the EU climate law, new CDR initiatives, processes and debates have been launched. The analysis shows that prospects of CDR policymaking will be shaped by ‘geographies of net zero’: Differences and conflicts over climate targets, composition of residual emissions, removal capacities, and socio-political preferences for different CDR methods in EU member states will affect future legislation.

Some new details could already be added following recent developments in the rapidly evolving CDR policy space, but the ‘familiar conditions’ and ‘new facets’ of CDR policy that we identify have remained the same and will be key elements in discussions on the 2040 target and the integration of CDR into the EU ETS, ESR and LULUCF.

The handbook is a great resource on EU climate policy and politics – including its links to different sectors. Read the full open access volume here.