Carbon Removal Industry to Ascend Under Biden Administration

Carbon180 releases the industry’s first set of administrative and agency transition guidelines, suggesting carbon removal’s growing role in climate policy

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Carbon180, a new breed of climate nonprofit, is publishing a series of transition recommendations on carbon removal for the incoming administration. The report outlines federal action for the first 30 and 100 days of Biden’s presidency as well as agency priorities, staffing recommendations, budgets and opportunities for Congressional collaboration. This will be the first report ever published on carbon removal for an incoming administration, indicating the growing importance in removing existing greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere as a key element of climate action.

“The incoming Biden administration is committed to making significant, meaningful progress on addressing climate change with carbon removal playing a key role,” said Giana Amador, cofounder and managing director of Carbon180. “Interest across corporate and congressional parties over the past several years has indicated that carbon removal is poised to become a central tenet of climate action. Combine federal investment, interagency coordination, and incentives for adoption, and we’re looking at a massive emerging industry.”

In this transition book, Carbon180 recommends a series of actions across the White House, federal agencies, and Congress, including:

Ambitious Emissions Targets and Tracking: Setting goals is a decisive way to signal strong leadership and accountability around CO₂ removal.

• White House Action : Within the first 30 days, set a climate target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and net-negative emissions thereafter. Within 100 days, create tracking, assessment and reporting systems.
• Agency Action : Establish U.S. international leadership on carbon removal within the Paris Agreement within the first 100 days. Initiate a Carbon Removal Leadership Forum within the Department of State.

Coordination, Research & Development: Carbon removal touches land, forestry, technology and energy sectors and there is an immense opportunity to ensure these efforts are in conversation with one another.

• White House Action : Within the first 100 days, establish an interagency carbon removal task force and create new roles in executive offices and councils dedicated to carbon removal.
• Congressional Action : Launch a “CarbonShot” innovation program as a joint effort with the White House, driving the cost of carbon removal to less than $100/ton CO₂ by 2025.
• Agency Action : Restructure agency offices to embed and prioritize carbon removal within the US Department of Energy (DOE), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of the Interior (DOI).

Path To Deployment: Federal funding for innovation and deployment is critical to scale solutions from R&D to early demonstrations to widespread adoption, with the goal of removing 1 million tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere in 2021.

• Congressional Action : Implement carbon removal policies within economic stimulus, building resilience and providing support to agriculture, forestry, and other rural communities. Allocate $10 billion in new RD&D funding for the full portfolio of carbon removal solutions over the next decade.
  
• Agency Action : Reform the Renewable Fuel Standard to incentivize direct air capture (DAC) projects and negative emissions biofuels. Improve Class VI wells pre-permitting on federal and private lands. Create a USDA Commodity Credit Corporation.

This transition book contains ambitious and impact-oriented recommendations for the upcoming administration to establish leadership on carbon removal — and to truly establish leadership, the agency and prosperity of vulnerable and frontline communities must be central to a collaborative and transparent decision-making process. The opportunity for the Biden administration to unlock economic opportunities, advance equitable policies, and make critical progress towards halting climate change cannot be overstated.

To learn more about Carbon180, visit carbon180.org. To view the report in its entirety, visit here.

About Carbon180
Carbon180 is a new breed of climate non-profit on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon. Alongside policymakers, scientists and businesses around the globe, Carbon180 develops policy, promotes research, and advances solutions to build a world that removes more carbon than it emits. Across the full portfolio of land-based and technological solutions, Carbon180 is building an industry around carbon removal to scale solutions equitably for decades to come. Find Carbon180 at Carbon180.org or on Twitter @Carbon_180 and see our research here.

Contact Information:
media@carbon180.org