Paris climate targets not possible without carbon removal the size of oil and gas – Swiss Re

Written by Adam Cadle

09/07/2021

Hitting the Paris climate targets won’t be possible without a carbon removal the size of oil and gas, Swiss Re has said.

In a new report, Swiss Re stated that reducing CO2 emissions should be an absolute priority, followed by removing any other unavoidable emissions from the atmosphere.

The report underlined that global emission levels will need to be cut in half by 2030, reach net-zero by 2050 and stay net negative throughout the second half of the century. The reinsurer said this will require up to 10 to 20 billion tonnes of negative emissions per year in and after 2050, meaning an increase in carbon removal capacity by 60% every year over the next three decades.

Christoph Nabholz, chief research officer at Swiss Re Institute commented: “Carbon removal will need to evolve into a multi-trillion-dollar industry akin to the value of the oil and gas industry today if we are to hit the climate targets set out by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“Serious investment in this nascent industry must start now. Failing to tackle climate change could result in global GDP loss of 18%, which we showed earlier this year. No action is not an option.”

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