“We need to massively scale up carbon dioxide removal,” said Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and lead author of the Planetary Boundaries framework, at the 2025 UN Climate Summit in New York. More specifically, carbon dioxide removal (CDR – the ‘net’ part of ‘net zero') must scale from near-zero today to billions of tonnes by 2050. The growth rate this implies is faster than any other climate technology is expected to achieve or has achieved in the past. This cannot be achieved without government policy, and the role Europe must play in creating that policy cannot be overstated. Carbon Gap, Europe’s leading CDR not-for-profit, exists to ensure Europe’s contribution is maximised.

A team of ~20 CDR policy experts based primarily between Brussels and London, we work closely with leading decision-makers right across Europe to design and shape the policies that are required to support CDR’s scale-up – from R&D funding to government purchasing programmes, and from national targets to standards and certification. Our work has been covered by publications including the Financial Times, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal. Carbon Gap alumni have progressed to exciting roles in government, the private sector, and academia.