The Australian Academy of Science has urged governments to set targets for carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

In a report released this week, scientists call on governments to support projects that take CO2 out of the atmosphere. 

The lack of policy in this area has caused Australia to lag behind other countries. 

The report suggests that Australia must urgently take a national coordinated approach to encourage projects that remove CO2 from the air. 

Approaches that come under CDR include tree planting, protecting carbon stored in coastal ecosystems, stopping deforestation, increasing soil carbon and direct air capture. 

Professor Chennupati Jagadish, President of the Academy, stated that to keep global heating to 1.5°C, CDR needs to be deployed at the same time as cutting emissions. 

The Climate Change Authority is set to release its own “insights paper” on CO2 removal and its potential in Australia in the next six weeks.

The Academy’s report, ‘Greenhouse gas removal in Australia: A report on the novel negative emissions approaches for Australia roundtable’, is being launched this week.