CDR policymaking: Insights from stakeholder engagement on DACCS

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) has taken center stage in the climate policy community. Forming an increasingly prominent role in many countries’ net-zero targets, many of these methods are, however, mired in controversy, especially Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS). Indeed, CDR generally and DACCS specifically are complex and uncertain topics, with an immense divergence of views and values on how to proceed (or not) with their implementation. Concerns abound about these technologies’ mitigation potential and co-benefits, as well as fear they distract from emissions reduction priorities. As such, their nature and the concerns around them make them an important science-policy challenge within the climate policy landscape.

The recommendations presented in this policy brief were developed based on results from a two-day stakeholder engagement workshop that took place in Berlin from April 18-19, 2023 and a subsequent online survey. Participants were experts mainly engaged in European and German climate policy.