Last week, the Carbon Removal Alliance published recommendations on leveraging policy in order to accelerate the advancement of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) efforts in the United States.
In an attempt to catalyze the development of this decarbonization sector, the Carbon Removal Alliance has committed to publishing a series of guidelines throughout 2025 that present ideas on enhancing existing policy mechanisms to boost CDR implementation.
The newly published recommendations are the second item of the 2025 series, preceded by a publication that proposed ways on leveraging Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAM) for carbon removal progress.
The new list of policy recommendations reviews five focus areas that could facilitate the scaling of CDR. These areas, which include trade policy, industrial integrations, market infrastructure, price supports, and federal procurement, have the potential to generate demand for 50M tons of CDR by 2030.
Building on their earlier CBAM suggestions, the Alliance now looked at ways in which carbon removal could also be included as a compliance mechanism within these policies.
In this regard, it suggests that permanent, high-quality CDR should initially be included together with other options to reduce tariff liability, where the mandatory minimum for carbon removal would increase over time as the market grows abundant in durable, high-quality credits.
It also suggests using advanced systems for CDR monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) in order to audit tariff claims and prevent fraud.
Pointing out that CO2 removal is already part of various industries in the US, the publication calls for a policy framework that would encourage further industrial carbon removal incorporation, triggering a much-needed demand for CDR services.
Relevant: Carbon Removal Alliance Proposes Clearer MRV Roadmap In New Report
To scale CDR, policy will also need to shape a reliable market structure, outlining clear rules and requirements, along with MRV mechanisms and standardized offtake contracts.
High CDR prices could be alleviated by price support tools that would help stabilize the market and introduce competitively priced removals, while federal carbon removal procurement would stimulate demand and signal trust in carbon removal companies.
To that end, the Alliance will work with the federal government to expand programs like the Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize, future versions of the Carbon Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies (CREST) Act, the Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act, and other similar initiatives that would facilitate federal carbon removal procurement.
Read more: The Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance Is Gathering Input On Scaling CDR Investments
