Scaling Technology-based CDR: A US Federal Policy Roadmap provides federal policymakers with a suite of policy proposals to accelerate the deployment of technological carbon removal in the near-term and enable responsible growth over the long-term.
Scientists agree that we need to get CDR to gigaton scale by mid-century to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, but we cannot advance climate solutions without a federal policy foundation that supports this growth. The roadmap outlines pragmatic, actionable ideas to advance tech CDR policy and help the US meet an interim goal of 30 megatons of CO2 removed per year by 2030 in the US across all CDR pathways.
Carbon removal is a public good. And like all public goods, it will be systemically underfunded without deliberate federal action.
Daphne YinDirector of Tech & Land Policy
Tech CDR is a necessary climate solution
Technological carbon removal refers to a range of engineered approaches that remove CO2 from the air and store it for centuries to millennia and can deliver permanent, verifiable storage with a low risk of reversal. This includes technologies like direct air capture (DAC), biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS), enhanced mineralization, and certain marine-based pathways. Enabling infrastructure, such as geologic storage and CO2 transportation networks, will also be necessary for scaling CDR technology.
A strong CDR industry can benefit both the climate and the US economy. Scaling this growing industry in the United States provides an incredible opportunity for economic growth and job creation across the country. While we have the financial, technical, and geologic resources to build this industry at home to supply a multi-gigaton global market by midcentury, federal policy will be critical to de-risking investment, building enabling infrastructure, and ensuring responsible deployment.
Policy actions today for tech CDR success tomorrow
This is where the roadmap comes in. We detailed a curated selection of original Carbon180 recommendations guided by our work with communities and identified the most impactful policy solutions to grow a robust and responsible tech CDR field.
This roadmap outlines key federal policy recommendations to address four enabling conditions that tech CDR needs to advance in parallel to scale responsibly:
- Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment
- Infrastructure
- Durable Markets
- Standards and Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MMRV)
Each section highlights a priority recommendation for an immediate, meaningful impact, alongside additional actions to grow the tech CDR field in the US.
| Enabling Condition | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment (RDD&D) | Amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to ensure the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs Program achieves maximum impact by 1) reducing the annual capture requirement from 1 million tons CO₂/year to 100,000 tons CO₂/year; 2) expanding eligibility to include other durable CDR technologies; and 3) allowing alternative funding mechanisms. |
| Infrastructure | Increase funding and staffing at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve the efficiency of issuing Class VI well permits — the infrastructure that enables durable CO₂ storage and is regulated by the EPA to protect sources of drinking water. |
| Durable Markets | Codify a federal purchasing program with specific evaluation guidelines that set high standards for quality CDR and attract additional buyers from the private sector. |
| Standards and Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MMRV) | Invest in MMRV R&D to improve the science underlying protocols, enable inter-pathway comparisons, and establish an inclusive federal advisory process that brings communities, scientists, and policymakers together to define credible standards that reflect technical, social, and environmental considerations. |
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