Agenda for a Progressive Political Economy of Carbon Removal

<p dir="ltr">Large amounts of carbon dioxide will need to be removed and durably stored to meet climate</p><p dir="ltr">targets. Even the lowest estimates suggest that large new industries will need to be created</p><p dir="ltr">to produce these removals. As both private and public investments begin to fill this gap, the</p><p dir="ltr">foundations of an emerging carbon removal industry are now being laid via policy decisions</p><p dir="ltr">that will shape the field to come.</p><p dir="ltr">In this report, we look to the possible versions of a future with carbon removal, imagining its</p><p dir="ltr">best forms, its worst forms, and its most likely forms. As we take stock of the path that the</p><p dir="ltr">sector is currently on, we worry that carbon removal might result in harms and injustices—or</p><p dir="ltr">simply fail to be effective. On the other hand, we can also envision a future in which carbon</p><p dir="ltr">removal serves as a tool for progressive principles like real climate action, justice, labor and</p><p dir="ltr">economic rights, democratic participation, and wealth redistribution.</p>