Unpacking ton-year accounting – CarbonPlan

To reach net-zero emissions and limit global warming, we’ll need to dramatically cut emissions and remove gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for storage.1 1 A Bergman & A Rinberg (2021) The case for carbon dioxide removal: From science to justice CDR Primer edited by J Wilcox, B Kolosz, J Freeman Although we ultimately need to reduce emissions and permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere, significant investment has gone into shorter-term interventions that delay emissions or remove carbon for temporary storage — typically involving forestry and agricultural activities in the land sector.2 2 L Joppa et al. (2021) Microsoft’s million-tonne CO₂-removal purchase—lessons for net zero Nature We know temporary carbon storage provides some value for meeting our climate goals, but it’s unclear how much. Surprisingly, there isn’t a clear intellectual framework for thinking about the climate benefits of temporary carbon storage. Answers vary based on which climate outcomes are c

To reach net-zero emissions and limit global warming, we’ll need to dramatically cut emissions and remove gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for storage.1 1 A Bergman & A Rinberg (2021) The case for carbon dioxide removal: From science to justice CDR Primer edited by J Wilcox, B Kolosz, J Freeman Although we ultimately need to reduce emissions and permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere, significant investment has gone into shorter-term interventions that delay emissions or remove carbon for temporary storage — typically involving forestry and agricultural activities in the l