Carbon dioxide removals are essential for achieving the global goal of net zero. Organisations that have committed to this target have also implicitly committed to counterbalancing all their residual emissions with removals with durable storage. All IPCC mitigation pathways which limit global warming to 2°C or lower rely on some level of removals, paired with ambitious emission reductions. The global removals volume has increased over the past five years; however, there is still a huge gap to be closed until the required billions of tonnes per year are achieved by 2050. To achieve such volumes and required market maturity over the next 15-20 years, organisations need to start engaging in removals already now.
This guide is designed to help companies achieve this ambitious target. It outlines key actions for integrating removals into corporate climate action alongside rapid GHG emission reductions to reach net zero. It builds on the principles introduced in the Exponential Business Playbook in 2025 and focuses on strategies and actions needed to ensure businesses will have access to removals at the scale, cost and durability they need to address the anticipated residual emissions. The actions were developed in collaboration with Rethinking Removals, Oxford Net Zero, and Race to Zero.
