US Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) in the House of Representatives have introduced the Carbon Dioxide Removal Research and Development Act of 2023.
The act was introduced with the intention of boosting investment in research, development and deployment of different carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions – a much needed step towards meeting national and global climate goals.
CO2 removal has been recognized as a critical means of mitigating the climate crisis, right alongside efforts aimed at reducing emissions.
The bill would support cross-agency research and development on CDR and will facilitate a $12 billion investment over the course of a decade.
The funding would also include a $2 billion program for competitive carbon removal demonstration projects.
Relevant: Carbon Removal Market Could Reach $135 Billion – BCG Report
Sasha Stashwick, Director of Policy at nonprofit Carbon180 welcomed the proposed act: “We need a portfolio of high-quality carbon removal solutions to reach global climate goals, and the Carbon Dioxide Removal Research and Development Act of 2023 introduced by Rep. Tonko today is an ambitious piece of legislation proportional to the task at hand. If passed, it would significantly bolster federal investments in early-stage research and development, alongside demonstration and pilot-scale projects in this critical sector.
Federal funding for these priorities is essential to our ability to reach the scale of carbon removal deployment needed, and to ensure the US continues to lead in this emerging climate solutions sector. This bill would also launch a whole-of-government approach to carbon removal, ensuring federal agencies are coordinated in this push to develop, collect data on, and monitor carbon removed and stored.”
Should the act pass it will join the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act (among others), as one of the driving forces behind the push to develop this nascent technology and reduce its cost per ton removed, which is currently thought to be in a range between $200-600.
Read more: Biden-Harris Administration Allocates $24 Million To Marine Carbon Removal
