I gave an online talk to the Chartered Insitute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) entitled ‘Reversing Climate Change: the Logistics of Removing CO₂ from the Atmosphere‘. It began with a brief update on climate science and climate politics. The more we overshoot emission reduction targets, the more heavily dependent we will become on carbon dioxide removal (CDR).  I traced the recent history of CDR, distinguishing it from the capture of CO₂ prior to release into the atmosphere. There are many different methods CDR each with different logistical requirements and challenges.  I focused on the main conventional and novel methods, particularly BECCS, DACCS, enhanced rock weathering, ocean alkalinity enhancement, biochar and afforestation.  I argued that the logistics of CDR needs more research and attention from policy-makers and managers, primarily for five reasons:

• To examine the nature and amount of freight movement likely to be generated by CDR.

• To assess the logistical feasibility of CDR at the required scale to meet climate targets.

• To measure the logistics-related emissions from the end-to-end CDR supply chain

• To determine how CDR supply chains can be optimised in terms of net CO₂ removal and cost

• To explore the business opportunities that CDR will create for logistic service providers

A copy of the presentation, containing weblinks to all the references and data sources, can be downloaded here.