This White Paper offers an overview of key considerations in the development and implementation of policies to mobilize carbon dioxide removals (CDR) towards the Swiss goal of reaching Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. With its net zero emission targets, Switzerland also committed to carbon dioxide removal (CDR). As set out in the CDR Roadmap released by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment in 2022 and the recent Swiss Climate Act, CDR will enable balancing residual emissions from hard-to-abate sectors. While CDR requires investments and regulation, it has the potential to provide economic opportunities across sectors in addition to its contribution to climate mitigation. In this White Paper, we focus on characteristic policy pathways, analyzing and discussing policy needs and possible alternative approaches over three distinct phases: the short-term (pioneering phase), the mid-term (scaling phase), until reaching Net Zero emissions in 2050, and the long-term, after 2050, whereby the climate goal is to achieve Net Negative emissions.

The white paper is published by the Swiss Carbon Removal Plattform, of which the UniFR_ESH Institute is a member. Find the full paper at: https://www.carbon-removal.ch/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CDR_Policy_WhitePaper_2023-6.pdf and find out more about the Plattform at https://www.carbon-removal.ch/