Hosted by the Negative Emissions Platform (NEP)

As net-zero strategies scale, terms like “CCS”, “CDR”, “removals”, and “avoided emissions” are being used interchangeably, often incorrectly. This creates confusion for policymakers, investors, companies, and civil society trying to understand what actually reduces emissions at source and what removes CO₂ from the atmosphere. This CDR 101 session unpacks how carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) relate, where they differ, and why clear definitions, accounting rules, and governance are essential for credible climate action.

What we’ll cover

• CCS vs CDR basics: What counts as CCS, what counts as CDR, how DAC and BECCS fit in, and why “avoided emissions” and “removals” must not be conflated.
• Storage, security & permanence: How geologic storage actually works for engineered CDR (DAC, BECCS), how we monitor injected CO₂, manage risk, and think about reversals over time.
• Accounting & claims: How CCS and CDR show up differently in inventories, corporate net-zero plans, and markets; what to do about reversals and long-term liability.
• Policy & governance: Current policy trends, the role of multilateral governance for scaling CDR, and how to design rules that support both strong mitigation and durable removals rather than mixing them up.
• Global state of play: The emerging landscape for engineered CDR (especially DAC and BECCS), key projects, and what decision-makers need to understand about the “storage part” that is still widely misunderstood.

Speakers

• Nico Fairbairn (they/them), Head of Partnerships, State of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) – Co-leading work on multilateral governance for CDR, bringing experience from U.S. federal oceans, climate, and carbon removal policy, including marine CDR legislation.
• Dr. Katherine Romanak, CO₂ Storage & Engineered CDR Expert – Nearly 20 years working on CO₂ storage monitoring and environmental impacts, helping governments and industry understand geologic storage, permanence, accounting, reversals, and the state of DAC and BECCS worldwide.