Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) are processes that take CO₂ out of the air and store it safely for a long time, helping to address climate change.

Direct air capture (DAC) separates carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air around us. When this CO₂ is stored (or used) in a way that keeps it out of the atmosphere for a long period of time, it forms a full carbon dioxide removal (CDR) method.

Carbon is the basic building block of life on Earth. It is the backbone of the molecules that make up every living thing, from plants to animals to bacteria and humans. It is also found in the air, in rocks and sediments, and in the ocean. In fact, it is constantly moving between these different forms and places naturally in a process called the carbon cycle.

Carbon mineralization describes the process of carbon dioxide (CO₂) reacting with certain minerals in rocks to produce solid minerals, called carbonates. In this way, mineralization removes CO2 from the atmosphere and stores it in a stable solid.

Storing CO2 in geologic formations deep underground is a well-established industrial carbon storage process. For decades, enhanced oil recovery projects have injected CO2 underground to push remaining oil out of the pore spaces for oil extraction, leaving the oil reservoir full of CO2.

The global average temperature of the planet is strongly affected by the amount of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, we’ve emitted into the atmosphere over the last century or so.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon capture and storage (CCS) both aim to reduce climate change by storing CO₂, but they work differently.

Climate scientists have found a clear link between the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) humans have released since the industrial revolution and rising global temperatures.

Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have released over 1.5 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere.