Agenda for a Progressive Political Economy of Carbon Removal

Large amounts of carbon dioxide will need to be removed and durably stored to meet climate

targets. Even the lowest estimates suggest that large new industries will need to be created

to produce these removals. As both private and public investments begin to fill this gap, the

foundations of an emerging carbon removal industry are now being laid via policy decisions

that will shape the field to come.

In this report, we look to the possible versions of a future with carbon removal, imagining its

best forms, its worst forms, and its most likely forms. As we take stock of the path that the

sector is currently on, we worry that carbon removal might result in harms and injustices—or

simply fail to be effective. On the other hand, we can also envision a future in which carbon

removal serves as a tool for progressive principles like real climate action, justice, labor and

economic rights, democratic participation, and wealth redistribution.