CO₂ Emissions Hit Record High as Carbon Removal Efforts Lag Behind

Global CO₂ emissions hit a new high in 2025, surpassing 38 billion metric tons for the first time. Meanwhile, atmospheric greenhouse gas levels have now reached 431 parts per million—more than double pre-industrial figures. Experts warn that urgent action is needed to scale up carbon removal efforts over the next five years if the world is to stay within the 1.5°C warming limit. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) involves extracting CO₂ from the atmosphere through methods like reforestation, chemical processes, and direct air capture (DAC). Currently, humanity removes around 2.2 billion metric tons of CO₂ annually, but only 0.1% of this comes from DAC technology.

The world’s largest operational DAC plant, located in Iceland, has been running for five years. At full capacity, it captures up to 4,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year. The process works by using fans to draw in air, filtering out CO₂, liquefying it, and then pumping it deep underground into porous basalt rock for permanent storage. Governments have pledged to increase carbon removal to 2.7 billion tons annually by 2035, rising to 3.6 billion by 2050. However, these targets still fall short of what’s required to meet the 1.5°C goal. Scientists stress that, alongside deep emissions cuts, CO₂ must be actively removed and stored securely underground to achieve net zero.

The next five years are seen as critical for expanding carbon removal at scale. While current efforts, including reforestation and DAC, provide a starting point, far greater investment and deployment are needed. Without rapid progress, the gap between emissions and removal will continue to widen, making the 1.5°C target increasingly difficult to reach.