Launch of the Carbon Management Challenge

On April 20, 2023, President Biden convened the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) for a fourth time to galvanize efforts needed during this critical decade to stem the climate crisis by keeping a 1.5°C limit on warming within reach. 

MEF participants Australia, Canada, Egypt, the European Union, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, as well as Norway and Denmark, joined in launching a Carbon Management Challenge (CMC) with the aim of coming forward by COP 28 with concrete announcements to accelerate the development and deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.

Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), briefed leaders on the Credible pathways to 1.5°C Report, outlining the four pillars for action in the 2020s, with carbon management as the fourth pillar.  

In addition to full-scale mitigation efforts – including accelerated deployment of clean energy, ending deforestation, and cutting non-CO₂ emissions – keeping a 1.5 °C warming limit within reach will require responsible deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.  CCUS has a critical role to play in decarbonizing the global economy, particularly the industrial sector, where process emissions are more difficult to address.  Combating climate change will also require addressing legacy emissions and removing CO₂ from the ambient air, through CDR. 

To build on these efforts, the President will invite other countries to join the CMC with the aim of unveiling at COP28 a suite of concrete announcements and goals that will accelerate carbon management technologies internationally.

Read the Chair’s Summary and the White House Factsheet for more information on the launch of the Carbon Management Challenge.