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Climate Change

Columbia University Launches the World’s First ‘Carbon Dioxide Removal Law’ Database

For media inquiries, please contact Michael Gerrard at [email protected]

NEW YORK – Today, researchers at Columbia University launched the world’s first Carbon Dioxide Removal Law database, an annotated bibliography of legal materials related to carbon dioxide removal and carbon sequestration and use, which is publicly available at: cdrlaw.org. The site has 530 resources on legal issues related to carbon dioxide removal, including such techniques as direct air capture; enhanced weathering; afforestation/reforestation; bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS); biochar; ocean and coastal CDR; ocean iron fertilization; and soil carbon sequestration. It also has 239 legal resources on carbon capture and storage, utilization, and transportation. New resources are constantly being added.

This site was created by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, in cooperation with the Carbon Management Research Initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA. Generous financial support was provided by the ClimateWorks Foundation and the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

“All scenarios for achieving the Paris temperature targets include not only a rapid transition away from the use of fossil fuels, but also the removal of large quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and the capture and sequestration or use of carbon dioxide from those industrial sources whose emissions cannot otherwise be prevented.  This resource assembles in one place the legal analyses of the relevant technologies, and will aid in the development of the needed laws and regulations,” said Michael Gerrard, a professor at Columbia Law School and Faculty Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

“This new and vital web resource on CO2 removal and carbon management augments the extraordinary legal work of the Sabin Center on Climate Law. The new portal serves scholars, advocates, governments, and companies large and small by providing clear and straightforward access to best-in-class scholarship on how the abundant natural resources of the world can reduce and repair the harm of human-caused climate change in a just and equitable way. This effort provides legal insight to the climate counterstrike,” said Dr. Julio Friedmann, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy who leads the Carbon Management Research Initiative.

The Sabin Center is also undertaking a series of white papers with in-depth examinations of the legal issues in particular carbon dioxide removal technologies.  The first of these, The Law of Enhanced Weathering for Carbon Dioxide Removal, by Romany M. Webb, has just been released.

About the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law develops legal techniques to fight climate change, trains law students and lawyers in their use, and provides the public with up-to-date resources on key topics in climate law and regulation. We work closely with the scientists at Columbia University’s Earth Institute and with governmental, nongovernmental and academic organizations. Follow us on Twitter: @ColumbiaClimate.

About the Center on Global Energy Policy

The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA advances smart, actionable and evidence-based energy and climate solutions through research, education and dialogue. Based at one of the world’s top research universities, what sets CGEP apart is our ability to communicate academic research, scholarship and insights in formats and on timescales that are useful to decision makers. We bridge the gap between academic research and policy — complementing and strengthening the world-class research already underway at Columbia University, while providing support, expertise, and policy recommendations to foster stronger, evidence-based policy. Recently, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger announced the creation of a new Climate School — the first in the nation — to tackle the most urgent environmental and public health challenges facing humanity. Follow us on Twitter @ColumbiaUEnergy.

About The ClimateWorks Foundation

ClimateWorks is a global platform for philanthropy to innovate and accelerate climate solutions that scale. We deliver global programs and services that equip philanthropy with the knowledge, networks and solutions to drive climate progress. Since 2008, ClimateWorks has granted over $1 billion to more than 500 grantees in over 40 countries. More information can be found at https://www.climateworks.org/programs/carbon-dioxide-removal/.

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