Australia Charts New Course with Novel Carbon Dioxide Removal Roadmap
CSIRO outlines pathways for deploying direct air capture, rock weathering and other emerging technologies to meet 133–200 Mt CO₂ annual removal by 2050
Australia’s national science agency has released a comprehensive roadmap setting out the nation’s potential to develop a novel carbon dioxide removal (CDR) industry, identifying large-scale opportunities to remove atmospheric CO₂ and support the country’s net-zero ambition.
Led by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and backed by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Geoscience Australia, the governments of South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales, and private partners including Google LLC, the roadmap quantifies capacity and cost for four novel CDR approaches: direct air capture and storage (DACS), biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS), ocean alkalinity enhancement and enhanced rock weathering.
The modelling shows that Australia may require between between 133 and 200 million tonnes of CO₂ removed annually by 2050, in order to help meet its net-zero target.
Under the technologies considered, the country may have capacity to remove up to 330 Mt CO₂ per year by 2050 even under conservative assumptions.
The roadmap emphasises that novel CDR is intended to complement—not replace—deep emissions reductions and nature-based removal such as forests and soil carbon.
It stresses that success will hinge on investment in scaling, infrastructure, workforce training, Indigenous and community engagement, and establishment of enabling regulation and markets.
The report highlights Australia’s unique endowments— abundant renewable energy, extensive landmass, geological storage capacity and research capability—that give it a competitive advantage globally in deploying CDR solutions at scale.
As Dr Andrew Lenton, Director of CarbonLock at CSIRO, noted: “Australia’s natural resources and renewable-energy assets provide a unique value proposition for large-scale deployment of novel CDR.”
Key next-steps outlined include selecting early deployment sites, implementing measurement, reporting and verification frameworks, developing supply chains for mineral feedstocks and biomass, engaging Indigenous custodians and local communities, and building export-oriented business models.
The roadmap also signals that international collaboration and carbon-market linkages will be essential to optimise Australia’s role in a global CDR industry.
With the document formally launched on 7 November 2025, the roadmap sets a new foundation for policy and industry around novel CDR in Australia—framing the field as both a climate necessity and a potential industrial opportunity for regional jobs, innovation and export growth.
Led by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and backed by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Geoscience Australia, the governments of South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales, and private partners including Google LLC, the roadmap quantifies capacity and cost for four novel CDR approaches: direct air capture and storage (DACS), biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS), ocean alkalinity enhancement and enhanced rock weathering.
The modelling shows that Australia may require between between 133 and 200 million tonnes of CO₂ removed annually by 2050, in order to help meet its net-zero target.
Under the technologies considered, the country may have capacity to remove up to 330 Mt CO₂ per year by 2050 even under conservative assumptions.
The roadmap emphasises that novel CDR is intended to complement—not replace—deep emissions reductions and nature-based removal such as forests and soil carbon.
It stresses that success will hinge on investment in scaling, infrastructure, workforce training, Indigenous and community engagement, and establishment of enabling regulation and markets.
The report highlights Australia’s unique endowments— abundant renewable energy, extensive landmass, geological storage capacity and research capability—that give it a competitive advantage globally in deploying CDR solutions at scale.
As Dr Andrew Lenton, Director of CarbonLock at CSIRO, noted: “Australia’s natural resources and renewable-energy assets provide a unique value proposition for large-scale deployment of novel CDR.”
Key next-steps outlined include selecting early deployment sites, implementing measurement, reporting and verification frameworks, developing supply chains for mineral feedstocks and biomass, engaging Indigenous custodians and local communities, and building export-oriented business models.
The roadmap also signals that international collaboration and carbon-market linkages will be essential to optimise Australia’s role in a global CDR industry.
With the document formally launched on 7 November 2025, the roadmap sets a new foundation for policy and industry around novel CDR in Australia—framing the field as both a climate necessity and a potential industrial opportunity for regional jobs, innovation and export growth.
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