According to the IPCC‘s 2018 Special Report, all assessed climate change mitigation pathways consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C include use of carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The IPCC’s recommendations assume large-scale deployment of direct air capture (DAC) and bio-energy carbon capture and storage (BECCS), for instance, without clarifying feasibility, scale-up, and side-effects.

Much work remains in basic research, identifying where/if scale-up is possible, prototyping, and attending to social justice concerns to ensure CDR approaches are well-understood by the public and that communities, especially marginalized communities, are engaged in development/deployment decisions.

Disconnect between the importance and urgency of CDR, per the IPCC *and* lack of attention to CDR by many climate scientists, and thus the climate activism community, is explained by the notion of “communities of practice.” “Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (wenger-traynor.com).

This interactive workshop will introduce or deepen participants’ knowledge of the robust carbon dioxide removal (CDR) community of practice. Each of four sections will be followed by an interactive activity or breakout room, allowing participants to integrate key ideas, identify challenges/questions, and suggest additions to presented resources.

WORKSHOP STRUCTURE

1. Broad carbon removal categories:

1. Afforestation/reforestation
2. Carbon farming and blue carbon
3. Biochar
4. Bio-energy carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
5. Direct air capture (DAC) with storage
6. Various ocean-based sequestration approaches
7. Enhanced weathering

2. Mapping the territory: CDR community of practice and conceptual essentials:

1. Definition of communities of practice
2. Importance of CDR in the IPCC’s 2018 Special Report
3. Importance of evaluating CDR approaches on scale potential and permanence
4. Attention to moral hazard and justice implications for carbon removal, including risks from inaction and action
5. Interrogating the commonly-assumed binary between emissions reduction advocates/practitioners and carbon removal advocates/practitioners
6. Common misperceptions/lack of general knowledge re: carbon cycle and scale, the stock and flow problem (emissions as annual rate vs. accumulation), and persistence of excess CO2 in the atmosphere.

3. Practitioners: Key academic centers, organizations, and resources in carbon removal:

1. Global CDR governance and government-sponsored programs
2. CDR-focused grassroots justice organizations
3. Market-focused organizations and networks
4. Academic centers and organizations focused on specific CDR approaches
5. Communication networks: CDR-related professional coalitions, listservs, podcasts, webinars, conferences, and publications

4. Reflection on participants’ communities of practice and next steps.

After the workshop, participants will receive a digital portfolio of resources shared.