Carbon dioxide removal at a climate-significant scale is one of the most complex endeavors we can imagine, interlocking technologies, social systems, economies, transportation systems, agricultural systems, and, of course, the political economy required to fund it. This primer aims to lower the learning curve for action by putting as many facts as possible in the hands of the people who will take on this challenge. This book can eliminate much uncertainty and fear, and, we hope, speed the process of getting real solutions into the field.
For those who share the goal of decarbonization – decarbonization through mitigation, supplemented by carbon dioxide removal – we hope that this primer can provide common language and basis for making judgments about the biophysical effects of these technologies and practices. We also hope it will be a source of support and guidance to those who realize that designing technical options for decarbonizing the planet and cleaning up our atmosphere is a massive job, and one that absolutely needs to be done in conversation with other areas of expertise. We expect the primer to find its place on many desktops, well-thumbed and index-tabbed, as proposals and white papers are written. Your imagination and perseverance, with this book’s expertise, can make the difference. Read more at “Carbon Dioxide Removal Primer” by Jennifer Wilcox, Ben Kolosz, and Jeremy Freedman, editors, who have published their work under the Creative Commons license for open access.