Gutierrez authors analysis of carbon dioxide removal and environmental justice in the US
Photo: Anirudh / Unsplash
Grant Gutierrez is the lead author of a first-of-its-kind environmental justice landscape analysis of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects in the U.S. published by Carbon Direct, in collaboration with the McKnight Foundation. This is the first comprehensive study to empirically assess the intersection of CDR, project siting, and environmental justice (EJ) in the U.S., providing essential data to inform future climate policy, investment, and project development.
Key Findings:
- No Systematic Pattern of Environmental Injustice in CDR Siting: Carbon Direct’s analysis of 342 CDR projects found no evidence that these projects are disproportionately located in low-income or BIPOC communities—a sharp contrast to legacy infrastructure such as hazardous waste facilities, which have historically burdened frontline communities.
- Place-Based Impacts Remain Critical: While no overarching pattern exists, individual CDR projects, including nature-based, hybrid, and engineered pathways, are sited near some communities with high environmental burdens. This underscores the need for nuanced, place-based engagement and robust safeguards to prevent harm and ensure benefits.
- A Narrow Window to Embed Equity: With the CDR sector still in its infancy, and because most removal credits have yet to be delivered, there is a unique opportunity to proactively shape siting, engagement, and benefit-sharing practices that prevent future injustice.
- A Baseline for Environmental Justice in CDR: This report establishes the first empirical baseline for understanding how CDR projects interact with frontline communities, providing foundational data to guide the sector’s equitable growth.
- Philanthropy and Private Sector Leadership Needed: As federal priorities shift, philanthropy and private actors can fill critical gaps by investing in community capacity, supporting technical assistance, and setting equity expectations for CDR projects.
A Critical Moment for Carbon Removal and Equity
Meeting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target will not only require rapid emissions reductions, but also the large-scale removal of carbon dioxide, up to 10 billion tonnes annually by 2050. As CDR technologies move from theory to implementation, the question of whether these projects will scale equitably or repeat past patterns of environmental injustice is paramount.
“Infrastructure for a clean and healthy society has too often come at the expense of frontline communities,” said Dr. Grant Gutierrez, Head of Community Impacts at Carbon Direct and lead author of the report. “Our analysis shows that CDR projects do not yet follow these harmful patterns. The choices made today will shape the social fabric of carbon removal for generations.”
Read the report: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Environmental Justice in the United States
Read the blog: Is carbon removal siting equitable? A landscape analysis
Report Methodology
Carbon Direct analyzed 342 CDR projects registered in seven major voluntary carbon market (VCM) registries across the United States, combining these project data with EJScreen data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to explore the question: are CDR projects disproportionately located in frontline communities in the U.S.? By layering project locations with demographic and environmental burden data and examining the census tracts surrounding these CDR projects—specifically evaluating indicators such as race, income, and pollution burden—the study aimed to assess potential patterns of environmental injustice.
Content modified from an original press release by Carbon Direct.
