🇩🇰 Is the world’s most progressive CDR country on track? 🇩🇰

♥️ If you follow me, you know I LOVE writing about Denmark. No other country has done as much - comparatively - for CDR as Denmark:

▪️ Implemented the world’s first €100/t livestock tax, with proceeds used for CDR

▪️ Created a $4.2b CCS fund, which covers BECCS

▪️ Created a $1.5b biochar carbon removal (BCR) fund

▪️ Implemented the world’s first government BCR strategy

😱 As a reminder, these two funds alone would be the equivalent of the U.S. putting $320b into CDR (and some CCS). These are *huge* amounts.

🎯 Denmark also has what many see as one of the most ambitious emission reduction targets in the world: 70% by 2030 (1990 levels), way ahead of the EU’s own 55% target. And Denmark is aiming for net-zero in 2045 and net-negative (110%) in 2050.

🔎 In its 2025 status report, the Danish Climate Council (independent government institution) now assesses its progress and provides an incredibly detailed view of the role of CDR in Danish climate policy.

👏 First, it states that Denmark is on track to hit 70% reductions by 2030. Congrats, that is simply incredible.

🚜 It then foresees around 7Mt of residual emissions in 2050, of which 80-90% will come from agriculture. To compensate these, it will need CDR and suggests the following split:

▪️ 1-2Mt BCR

▪️ 2Mt AF/RF

▪️ 3-4Mt BECCS

🏭 To get there, it recommends:

▪️ Pre 2030: BECCS deployment, DACCS R&D, robust certification

▪️ Post 2030: cautious CDR ETS integration, develop CO2 storage, expand BCR

⚠️ While fully supportive of scaling CDR, it does highlight two key risks:

1️⃣ Mitigation deterrence, especially in the context of ETS integration, and the need to ensure that emission reductions always come first.

2️⃣ Sustainable use of biomass, especially for BECCS and in a context where incentives - such as ETS integration - could lead to an unsustainable uptick in biomass demand.

💪 Overall, I found this report incredibly refreshing. In a time when many governments still see CDR as something experimental to do some R&D on, Denmark shows that CDR can and should be fully integrated into climate and industrial policy. Not in 2030 or 2035, but today.

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