Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) has become an essential tool in the race to limit global warming, but fragmented standards, unclear accounting rules, and restricted access to capital are preventing the market from reaching the scale the climate requires, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum.
Published on March 31, the report—developed in collaboration with Oliver Wyman and ClimeFi—draws on aggregated marketplace data and interviews with industry leaders to map the current state of the CDR landscape across key technologies including direct air capture (DAC), bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), biochar, and enhanced rock weathering (ERW).
Relevant: World Economic Forum Proposes Key Steps To Build The Financial Architecture For Scaling CDR
As of 2024, some 130 DAC facilities were at various stages of development. Should all advance, DAC deployment could reach nearly 65 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year by 2030—still short of the 80 million tonnes per year required to stay on track for net zero by 2050.
BECCS projects, meanwhile, currently capture about 2 million tonnes annually, with pipeline capacity reaching roughly 60 million tonnes by 2030 if all planned projects advance—well below the 190 million tonnes per year the net zero pathway demands.
On contracting structures, around 80% of projects surveyed are willing to offer buyers option contracts on near-term vintages covering 2026 to 2030, rising to 87% for credits beyond 2030. For buyers willing to commit capital early, full prepayment can unlock discounts of 7–14% off the purchase price.
The report identifies several actions needed to convert early demand signals into durable, scalable supply, including expanding public funding, standardizing global verification criteria for carbon removal credits, and developing CO2 storage infrastructure to improve cost efficiency.
The so-called white paper is designed to support buyers, developers, investors, and policy makers by providing transparency on risk, cost, and bankability considerations across CDR technologies.
Read more: ClimeFi Publishes 2026 Insights On The Durable Carbon Removal Market
