A Path to Swiftly Scaling Greenhouse Gas Removal Technologies

The Bezos Earth Fund’s Greenhouse Gas Removal initiative, which is dedicated to scaling technological removal approaches, is pleased to announce the publication of ‘Scaling Technological Greenhouse Gas Removal: A Global Roadmap to 2050.’ Developed in collaboration with RMI, the roadmap outlines a path to achieving ambitious but critical scaled deployment of removal technologies by 2050 via 83 initiatives with specific targets and milestones.  

To meet our climate goals, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced swiftly and reach net zero emissions by mid-century and net negative in the long term. Emissions reduction remains the top priority to slow warming, but to avoid the worst climate impacts, removing greenhouse gases will also be necessary.  

Greenhouse gas removal approaches encompass natural approaches, such as planting trees, and technological approaches, such as extracting carbon dioxide molecules out of the atmosphere through fan-like machines or using crushed rocks to increase the surface area of natural chemical reactions. Other technological approaches include genetically engineering plants to enhance carbon uptake and processes that increase the alkalinity of oceans to sequester more carbon. Leading scientists estimate that, in order to avoid the worst climate impacts, roughly 10 gigatons of emissions need to be removed per year by mid-century. While nature-based approaches, such as reforestation, will play an incredibly important role, technological approaches will also be necessary given land use constraints and the need for durable removals. Yet, to date, less than one million tons have been removed using technology.  

We must act with urgency to bridge this gap and scale these approaches in a manner that is safe and just. Some, such as direct air capture, are more mature than others based on early funding support, while others are frontier solutions, ripe for experimentation and innovation. 

By working backward from 2050, the roadmap creates a path to achieving this ambitious but necessary scaled deployment of removal technologies through a set of timed actions, including urgent near-term deadlines. Dr. Noël Bakhtian, Director for Technology Acceleration at the Earth Fund, put this challenge in perspective: “The roadmap sets decadal deployment goals, reaching 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide removed per year by 2050 – that is a greater mass by year than the production of any of the world’s largest global commodities, including coal, iron, and cement. We need to get to work.”  

The publication of this roadmap follows a major workshop convened by the Earth Fund with the U.S. Department of Energy and Stanford University earlier this year to harness the expertise of 500+ experts across the removal ecosystem. “The greenhouse gas removal industry is just ramping up," said Daniel Pike, leader of RMI’s Carbon Dioxide Removal initiative. "By making an early, concerted effort to implement technologies where they can have greatest positive impact on the environment, economy, and local communities, we can ensure this critical piece of the net zero puzzle reaches its maximum potential." 

This roadmap takes the first global systems view to what is needed to scale both carbon dioxide removal and removal of other greenhouse gases, with the intent of aligning actions and investments across sectors and stakeholders. “This decade could make or break our ability to reach the greenhouse gas removal scale we need,” said Dr. Kelly Levin, the Earth Fund’s Chief of Science, Data and Systems Change. “Now is the time to mobilize partners, commitments, and funders to rapidly execute this plan.” 

Please contact GHGRemovalinitiative@bezosearthfund.org with any questions.