Stuart Jenkins, Ingrid Sundvor, Myles Robert Allen

The Carbon Management Challenge (CMC) has set a goal of reaching a minimum of 1 billion tonnes per year of geological carbon dioxide storage by 2030. While in line geological storage required in the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero pathway, there is concern this may be a distraction from the imperative of reducing fossil fuel emissions. Here we show that, if presented in terms of an accelerating Geologically Stored Fraction, the CMC could represent the first phase of a progressive transition to Geological Net Zero by mid-century, consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.