Carbon Dioxide Removal - A tool in a toolbox for reaching net-zero emissions

Abstract: Corporations play a vital part to limit global warming within the lines of the Paris Agreement and are increasingly making net-zero pledges for committing to decarbonising their operations. The ability to reach these ambitious targets will rely on the development of negative emission techniques referred to as carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Scholars have raised concerns that corporations are putting too much faith in the nascent CDR technologies and there is a fear of CDR having a negative effect on internal reduction efforts. On the contrary, the voluntary carbon market is rapidly growing, and corporations continue to invest in CDR. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the drivers behind, as well as the role of, CDR investments in corporations' efforts to reach net-zero emissions. To achieve this, we conduct a qualitative study where we interview twelve sustainability managers or climate specialists at large corporations who are using or planning on using CDR in their strategies for reaching net-zero. In terms of drivers for CDR, we identified six potential drivers for investing in CDR. Further, we found that corporations' belief in CDR technology development affected the time horizon of CDR investments as well as the carbon norm adopted. Regarding the strategic implications of CDR, we found that corporations have a strategic intent to prioritise internal reductions over CDR. However, such approaches can be done simultaneously, at all levels of the value chain. CDR is a tool in a toolbox for corporations to reach net-zero.