Carbon Removal Secures Historic Pavilion at COP30

The newly confirmed CDR30 Pavilion in Belém will be the world’s first COP pavilion dedicated to carbon removals, spotlighting their growing role in tackling climate change. Showcasing solutions from across the sector, the Pavilion will highlight how carbon removals work hand in hand with emissions reductions to accelerate progress toward global climate goals.

Brussels, Belgium, 18 September 2025 — The COP30 Presidency has allocated carbon dioxide removal (CDR) a dedicated pavilion inside the UNFCCC Blue Zone, placing CDR at the heart of global climate negotiations. The CDR30 Pavilion is coordinated by the Negative Emissions Platform (NEP) and through CDR30: The Global CDR Initiative at COP30, is backed by more than 90 organisations, including CDR companies, NGOs, research institutions, investors, and philanthropic foundations.  

The International Biochar Initiative is a proud member of the CDR30 coalition.

Why This Matters

  • The IPCC is clear: net-zero is impossible without carbon removals.
  • Science shows the world will need 7-9 billion tonnes of durable carbon removals annually by mid-century. That means scaling the sector by a factor of up to 5,000 by 2050, equivalent to nearly 40% growth every year
  • To be on track, capacity must rise well beyond today’s levels – reaching around 100 million tonnes a year by 2030 and scaling to the hundreds of millions by 2035. Investment in carbon removal is needed today to unlock the technologies, infrastructure, and cost reductions required for this growth.

Why This Matters for Biochar

  • Places biochar on the political stage.
  • Connects decision-makers with credible, science-based solutions.
  • Strengthen alliances that accelerate durable carbon removals.

“We are proud to be part of this moment and will work to ensure biochar is visible, credible, and included in the CDR dialogue at COP30,” says Luisa Marin, executive director of the International Biochar Initiative.

Carbon removals span land, air, ocean, and rock – from enhanced weathering and biochar to direct air capture, soil enhancement, and marine methods. In Brazil, smallholder farmers are deploying both enhanced rock weathering and biochar. In Iceland, CO₂ is being captured from the air and permanently stored underground in basalt rock using geothermal energy. In the U.S., carbon is being stored by converting biomass into bio-oil and injecting it underground. 

The CDR30 Pavilion

At COP30, the CDR30 Pavilion will shine a spotlight on these approaches, showing how carbon removal can deliver benefits for the climate, local communities, and livelihoods worldwide. The Pavilion will host daily events, live tech demonstrations, and negotiations briefings, creating the first ever dedicated forum where policymakers and innovators can directly engage on removals. The pavilion will act as:

  • A hub for diplomacy and science: showcasing technologies, convening experts, and hosting side events.
  • A gathering point for the ecosystem: uniting innovators, buyers, financiers, and policymakers around durable, high-integrity CDR.     
  • A global signal: that carbon removals are essential to deliver on the Paris Agreement.

“COP30 is the moment carbon removals step fully onto the world stage,” said Chris Sherwood, Secretary-General of the Negative Emissions Platform. “With this pavilion, we are making history. For the first time, governments, investors and civil society will have a dedicated space to see, understand and engage with carbon removals as an essential part of the toolkit humanity cannot afford to ignore.”

Additional quotes: 

“Brazil is positioning itself to become a leader in carbon removal, leveraging its position as a photosynthesis power-house to remove CO2 through nature-based solutions (reforestation, afforestation, land use) as well as engineered solutions leveraging nature (biochar, ERW, BECCS). The vast agricultural sector of Brazil is specifically relevant given its scale and professionalism” 

  • Axel Reinaud, Net Zero

Lukas May, Chief Commercial Officer at Isometric, said: “A dedicated pavilion for carbon removal at COP30 will send an important signal that the industry is starting to meaningfully scale up—and policymakers have a key role to play in that. The idea for this was first floated at a lunch with carbon removal folks in Baku—to see it turn into reality less than a year later is testament to a truly collaborative effort from individuals across the whole CDR community.”

COP30 offers the opportunity to consolidate the progress on carbon removals and accelerate it towards real scale. Governments have taken initial steps to back projects, but the pace must increase to match the urgency of the science. Clear rules on how removals fit into Article 6 of the Paris Agreement will be crucial to move from pilots to global impact. The Pavilion is an important first step, but COP30 must be the inflection point – shifting carbon removals from pilots to global deployment through clear rules and sustained finance.

Quick facts

  • Event: COP30 – UN Climate Change Conference
  • Dates: 10-21 November 2025
  • Location: Belém, Brazil
  • CDR Deployed Today vs. Growth Need: 7–9 Gt/year required by 2050 vs. <0.05 Gt/year today. All UNFCCC Climate Action Pathways highlight carbon removal as crucial to achieving 2050 climate goals.
  • Pavilion: Confirmed by the COP30 organising team

About CDR30

CDR30: The Global CDR Initiative at COP30 represents a collective effort to elevate carbon removal as a strategic pillar of climate action at COP30, advocating for stronger policy recognition, scaled deployment, and financing mechanisms that deliver tangible economic and climate benefits.

About the Negative Emissions PlatformThe Negative Emissions Platform (NEP) is a Brussels-based trade association and UNFCCC Observer representing the permanent engineered carbon removals ecosystem. NEP is the Committee Lead for CDR30: The Global CDR Initiative at COP30, supporting a coalition-wide effort to elevate carbon removals within international climate diplomacy. Its other initiatives include the CDR Industry Commitments, with over 130 signatories supporting high-integrity permanent removals, and Invest in Carbon Removals, which connects investors and innovators to scale durable solutions.