As climate scientist Zeke Hausfather points out, CCUS competes with clean energy (like renewables), whereas CDR can reverse past emissions and counteract residual emissions from sectors that will be hard to fully decarbonize. įirst and foremost, CDR and CCUS play very different roles in climate mitigation. I would argue that the correct distinction of CDR from CCUS matters - a lot. They both “trap” carbon dioxide in some way or another. CDR and CCUS are both climate beneficial. The erroneous reference to CDR as “carbon capture” or the frequent inclusion of CDR as a subset of CCUS in media outlets may not seem like a big deal. However, they are distinct methods with different roles to play in fighting climate change. Let me be clear - I’m not claiming one is superior to the others. The latter two methods (CCU and CCS) are often referred to together as CCUS, and all three live under the umbrella of “carbon management”. Let’s summarize their explainer with some visual help below from the recently published State of Carbon Dioxide Removal report:Ĭarbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) refers to removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and durably storing it, leading to negative emissions (illustration on the left)Ĭarbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) is the reuse of captured carbon dioxide either directly or in products like fuels, which are at best carbon neutral (middle illustration)Ĭarbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the separation and durable storage of carbon dioxide from industrial exhausts, which are at best carbon neutral (illustration on the right) More officially, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines CDR as follows :ĬDR refers to anthropogenic activities that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it durably in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products.Ĭarbon Gap released a good explainer last year on the difference between CDR, CCS, and carbon capture and utilization (CCU). As Nicole Kelner’s illustration above shows - carbon dioxide removal (CDR) “sucks” existing carbon dioxide from the air, while carbon capture and storage (referred to as CCS) “scrubs” carbon dioxide from a point source.

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