Over 150 experts came together in Rome to develop methodologies for carbon dioxide removal, carbon capture, utilisation, and storage technologies
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has initiated work on a landmark methodology report aimed at strengthening how countries measure and report carbon dioxide removal and carbon capture technologies, a critical step in advancing global climate mitigation efforts.
More than 150 international experts have gathered in Rome this week for the first author meeting of the 2027 Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies and Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CDRT-CCUS).
The session, being held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization, marks the formal start of a multi-year scientific process that will guide governments on tracking emissions and removals more accurately.
The upcoming report is expected to provide a robust scientific framework for estimating carbon dioxide emissions and removals across a wide spectrum of emerging and established technologies.
These include direct air capture, biomass and soil-based sequestration, coastal ecosystem solutions, and innovations in CO₂-derived materials.
Takeshi Enoki, Co-Chair of the IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, said the methodology would play a central role in enhancing transparency and consistency in global climate reporting. “This report will strengthen the scientific basis for mitigation policies by enabling more reliable and comparable emissions accounting,” he noted.
Echoing this, Mazhar Hayat, Co-Chair of the Task Force, emphasised that updated methodologies will help countries better assess carbon removal efforts across diverse approaches, ensuring alignment with evolving climate goals under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement.
The IPCC’s Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories is responsible for developing internationally accepted tools and guidelines for measuring greenhouse gas emissions and removals. These methodologies are essential for countries reporting their climate actions and progress.
The report will undergo a rigorous drafting and review process, including multiple author meetings and two formal review stages—first by scientific experts and then jointly by governments and experts—before its final approval by IPCC member states in 2027.
Established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization, the IPCC remains the world’s leading authority on climate science, with 195 member countries contributing to its assessments.
The methodology report forms a key component of the IPCC’s ongoing Seventh Assessment Cycle, which will culminate in a comprehensive synthesis report by 2029. Alongside this, the panel is also preparing major outputs including working group reports on climate science, impacts, and mitigation, as well as special reports on climate change and cities.
As countries ramp up efforts to meet climate targets, particularly following the global stocktake under COP28, the new methodology is expected to play a pivotal role in ensuring credible, science-based tracking of carbon removal technologies worldwide.