Summary/Abstract
This testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing to examine the challenges and opportunities for large-scale carbon management focuses specifically on options for removing carbon dioxide that is already in the atmosphere. The testimony identifies the challenges and opportunities associated with two different approaches to carbon dioxide removal: direct air capture or DAC, in which mechanical and chemical processes are used to extract carbon dioxide from the air (once captured, the carbon dioxide can be used in other industrial processes or products or permanently stored in geological reservoirs), and farm or forest-based strategies that increase the uptake and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in soils and biomass. The last part of the testimony suggests specific actions Congress and this committee can take to support the development and deployment of these “negative emissions” strategies and summarizes the Bipartisan Policy Center’s near-term plans for work in this area.