15 Mar 2024
The nationwide CDRterra research programme is addressing the active removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The third annual meeting of CDRterra took place in Hanover from March 12 to 15 - this time together with the CDRmare research mission.
© Björn Maier
CDRmare investigates marine carbon dioxide removal methods and is also funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Around 250 scientists presented interim results already achieved in the 16 joint projects and discussed possible synergies. The central questions were: What is the current state of research on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) on land and in the ocean? And how can both research programmes jointly advance the state of knowledge on CDR?
The research results of all consortia are brought together by the CDRterra synthesis project CDRSynTra. The aim is to comprehensively and uniformly assess the potential and impact of the various CDR methods on land and in the ocean - a highlight of the event was therefore the presentation of the first draft of a suitable assessment framework.
‘On the one hand, the assessment framework is intended to shed light on the fundamental feasibility, and on the other hand on possible synergies and conflicting goals that could arise from the implementation of CDR methods,’ says Prof Dr Julia Pongratz, coordinator of CDRterra and holder of the Chair of Physical Geography and Earth System Interactions at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU).
‘We are not only investigating what is technologically possible. Ecological, economic and political aspects are also important - right through to social perception and questions of justice. Dialogue with the public is essential for the development of a low-risk and sustainable portfolio of carbon dioxide removal measures for Germany,’ emphasised Dr Felix Havermann, who is leading the joint work on the assessment framework as the scientific coordinator of CDRterra at LMU.