Slow but Sure: Expert Perspectives on Carbon Dioxide Removal Policy in the United Kingdom

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods are essential to meeting national net zero targets, yet governments have only recently engaged with the need for CDR policymaking. The United Kingdom’s government is amongst the most active, introducing explicit targets and dedicated policies for CDR deployment. To assess how both commercial and policy actors view these policy developments, we conduct semi-structured interviews with 25 experts active in UK CDR policymaking, with expertise spanning all relevant CDR methods. Through inductive coding, we identify and detail several key themes and policy recommendations. Firstly, a scepticism towards the voluntary carbon market, reflecting a need for the government to stimulate near-term demand for CDR. Secondly, a need to implement credible monitoring, reporting, and verification through a government standard, standardising how differences in the permanence of CDR methods are managed. Thirdly, a need to improve state capacity, to be met by a new cross-government body tasked with overseeing CDR. Fourth, a need for ‘net-negative ready’ policy, ensuring that the proposed integration of CDR within the UK emissions trading scheme continues to provide long-term demand, given the likelihood of temporary temperature overshoot and net-negative emission targets, as the next necessary extension of climate policy.