Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR): What is Sustainable and Just?

By Duncan McLaren and Olaf Corry

As atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations continue to rise apace and global temperatures and climate impacts accelerate due to insufficient global action, many are placing hopes and expectations in large scale anthropogenic ‘carbon dioxide removal’ (CDR) to balance the global carbon budget. 

CDR comprises a range of ideas and schemes that aim to draw down atmospheric carbon dioxide (which is already at harmful levels) and store it safely. In pursuing a maximum of a 1.5°C temperature rise at 2100, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Reports include many potentially unsustainable scenarios with removal of between 6 and 11 billion tonnes of CO2 (6-11 Gt-CO2) every year for 50 years.  This would be a staggering amount of removal and storage and raises a host of challenging questions not only about feasibility and effectiveness, but also about safety, sustainability, legality, justice, ethics and geo-politics. 

Questions include:

- Are such rates of removal even possible in the face of technical, economic and social limits?

- Whose continued emissions would be counterbalanced with CDR? 

- What would a world of large-scale CDR look like in terms of human rights, sustainability and geopolitical risks?

- What do such calculations assume about continual economic growth and global inequalities? 

- Can CDR be pursued without deterring urgently needed acceleration of emissions cuts? 

This briefing paper offers some answers to these questions, highlighting uncertainties surrounding prospects for CDR, and social, environmental and human rights harms that may arise if we place too much trust in CDR – especially if CDR is treated as interchangeable with emissions reductions. We outline a pathway that restrains climate change and avoids unsafe, unjust and unsustainable technofixes.

QUNO’s Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme, in partnership with Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd., has published the Phase 1 Report of their project titled Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap. This report represents a crucial step in uncovering the extensive subsidies received by the primary plastics polymer (PPP) production industry, a sector that plays a pivotal role in global plastic pollution.

The report focuses on the subsidies provided to the most energy-intensive segment of the plastics production chain, from the processing of raw materials to the production of basic resins and their extrusion into plastic pellets. The study reveals that these subsidies are substantial, amounting to approximately USD 30 billion annually across the top 15 polymer-producing countries.

This work is critical as it fills significant data gaps and provides a foundation for informed policy discussions at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution, which is tasked with developing a legally binding global treaty to end plastic pollution. The findings highlight the urgent need for better transparency and tracking of subsidies at both national and international levels.

Supported by Dalberg Catalyst through grant funding from The Rockefeller Foundation, this collaborative effort between QUNO and Eunomia serves as a vital resource for stakeholders aiming to understand and reform the economic drivers of plastic production. The Phase 1 Report is just the beginning, with future phases planned to refine these findings, project future subsidy trends, and model the potential impacts of subsidy reforms on plastic production, trade, and environmental outcomes.

Discaimer: The findings and conclusions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of The Rockefeller Foundation or Dalberg Catalyst.

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in Geneva published an updated version ‘A Government Official’s Toolkit: Inspiring Urgent, Healthy, and Equitable Climate Action,’ which is available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish. This publication is aimed at enhancing understanding and communication of climate change.

‘A Government Official’s Toolkit: Inspiring Urgent, Real, and Equitable Climate Action’ has been updated with the most recent scientific findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report (AR6). This report was compiled for just over seven years and involved hundreds of scientists worldwide.

The IPCC informs governments on what is happening, why, and what people can do to avert catastrophic climate change. 

QUNO’s updated ‘A Government Official’s Toolkit’ aims to empower policymakers and climate advocates with the latest IPCC findings on root causes and urgent, feasible, and near-term options that are already available at scale to address climate change and improve well-being and planetary health. QUNO believes that everyone should have easy access to the science presented to our governments.

This publication is accessible online and via a print-at-home version, which can be used for personal distribution and campaigning.

QUNO is proud to announce that the latest version of our annual review is now available online! This is a great opportunity to read and learn more about the work of our New York and Geneva offices during this past year, and to learn about the work ahead.

QUNO Geneva's Peace & Disarmament program works to highlight and reinforce the inextricable link between human rights and peace and to ensure that they are seen as mutually reinforcing throughout the UN's work at the policy and practice level, reaching out o a diverse range of stakeholders and in doing so to promote just, peaceful, and inclusive societies. Read more about our most recent activities and work on this in the booklet!

QUNO’s Human Impact of Climate Change programme, speaking on behalf of the Friends World Committee for Consultation, participated in the 60th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Istanbul, Turkey. 

At this session, the panel was tasked with crucial decisions on IPCC’s finances and its work for the 7th Assessment Cycle. QUNO submitted three interventions: advocating for the need to focus on the transformation of root causes rather than feeding unhealthy reliance on fossil fuels through research on geo-engineering; for research that upholds the rights and knowledge of Indigenous peoples; and the inclusion of military emissions in IPCC modeling and greenhouse gas emissions reporting. 

QUNO’s specific interventions and a debrief analysis on the negotiations and results of the 60th Session are available for download.

Viewing the Global Compact for Migration as a useful tool for human rights-based migration governance, QUNO works with States, the UN, civil society and migrants themselves to ensure its ambitious, effective, and human rights-based implementation. QUNO believes that a multistakeholder, collaborative approach that incorporates lived experiences and expertise is vital for this process, to support this QUNO is publishing a short, practical guide for migrants and other stakeholders to engage with the upcoming Regional Reviews.

This guide is designed to simplify and enhance the accessibility of the Regional Reviews in an effort to promote engagement from all stakeholders, particularly migrants themselves. QUNO explains why engaging with the process is important and avenues of engagement with ideas for action, while also providing logistical information and useful resources.

Against the backdrop of Asia’s struggle with burgeoning plastic waste, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) has published a new report that delves into the complex challenges and potential strategies for addressing this problem in the region.

QUNO’s report, ‘Trade and Plastics — Fostering Sustainable Development in South East Asia’, was issued by its Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme this month (November).

It focuses on plastic pollution in Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam and highlights the pressing need for systemic changes. 

The report highlights the growing environmental threats and economic losses due to mismanaged waste. It also exposes the intricate interplay between trade policies and sustainable waste management practices.

This critical study, conducted by experts from the University of Cambridge, transcends traditional discussions on plastic waste management. 

It underscores the urgent need to align strategies with the waste management hierarchy—emphasising reduction, reuse, and recycling—to combat the escalating crisis of plastic pollution and its socio-economic ramifications.

This study is an essential call to action, urging the implementation of comprehensive policies that integrate waste hierarchy principles. 

It challenges the current linear economic model, stressing the importance of reducing plastic production, minimising single-use plastics, and promoting sustainable alternatives. 

Its authors navigate the complexities of transitioning towards more sustainable practices, particularly emphasising the pivotal role of trade as a lever for ecological and social reform.

The report enriches broader understanding of the multifaceted nature of plastic pollution and fortifies QUNO’s advocacy for environmentally sound and equitable economic systems. It is a testament to the power of informed, cohesive action in the face of a global environmental challenge.

QUNO, on behalf of the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), offered this submission in response to a call for input the Article 6.4 Supervisory Board on how to meaningfully engage with Indigenous peoples and local communities. This submission calls for the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body to ground meangingful engagement with Indigenous peoples and local communities in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 Summary findings, approved by States in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

The Article 6.4 Supervisory Body is tasked with supervising and operationalizing the carbon crediting mechanism that was established by Article 6.4 of the UN Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change which encourages global action to help humanity and nature avert catastrophic temperature rise due to human activities. 

FWCC is an accredited observer of both the UNFCCC and IPCC, as well as an expert reviewer of IPCC Reports. In addition to FWCC expertise, the submission collated findings directly referenced from the IPCC AR6 Reports. We hope that this collation will help guide the Supervisory Board to ground its work in the best available scientific research, strengthening efforts to establish meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. This is critical to avert exacerbating existing structural inequities, especially when considering land-based carbon credits in areas of Indigenous land tenure or where land tenure is insecure. This submission highlights IPCC findings that not only emphasize the risks associated with failing to engage meaningfully with Indigenous Peoples and local communities but also offer approaches to minimize such risks through monitoring and reporting; capacity-building; or incorporating Indigenous knowledges and human rights-based approaches