Advocacy Idea: Abatement Pathways
A no‑cost, high‑impact way for governments to accelerate net zero while saving taxpayers money.
Every country can make faster progress toward net zero - while reducing costs for households, businesses, and taxpayers - by opening up all climate‑science‑aligned abatement pathways, including "do our best" emission-reduction pathways and "remove the rest" permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR) pathways.
Today, many governments are unintentionally paying more than necessary for net zero progress because some of the lowest‑cost, science‑aligned pathways are not yet recognized in policy. This gap slows innovation, increases costs, and forces governments to rely on higher-cost abatement options. When governments restrict the set of eligible pathways, they restrict competition — and taxpayers pay the price.
A pragmatic, phased approach to pathway standards unlocks a lowest‑cost, science‑aligned route to net zero - at no cost to government.
Why This Matters
Most climate policies focus on "do our best" solutions like solar, wind, EVs, and efficiency. These are essential but not sufficient. Permanent CDR pathways are needed for:
-
hard‑to‑abate sectors
-
legacy emissions
In many countries, permanent CDR is allowed in principle but cannot be used in practice because governments do not have recognized standards. Without recognized standards:
-
governments cannot procure permanent removals
-
innovators cannot access stable demand
-
companies and taxpayers may pay more than necessary
-
progress toward net zero slows
In many jurisdictions, governments are paying two to three times more than necessary for certain abatement options simply because lower‑cost, science‑aligned pathways are not yet recognized.
This is not about choosing winners - it's about letting all safe, science-aligned pathways compete on cost and performance, and ensuring taxpayers aren't footing an inflated bill.
Typical Recognized Decarbonization Pathways
Cost for Net Zero
Feasibility of Net Zero by 2050
Today
-
Many countries recognize emissions‑reduction pathways
-
Permanent CDR pathways lack standards in most jurisdictions
-
Governments and companies cannot use permanent removals
-
Innovators face market uncertainty
-
Taxpayers may pay more for higher‑cost abatement
As Soon As Possible
-
Recognize best‑in‑class voluntary standards
-
Allow procurement of permanent removals
-
Unlock early demand for innovators
-
Reduce costs across government and industry
-
Begin aligning with emerging international public standards
Opening all pathways lets governments set clear, science‑aligned guardrails - and then step back to let markets compete on cost, performance, and innovation.
How to Use This Page
-
Explore what individuals, companies, and governments can do
-
Use the templates to take action
-
Share the idea with your community
Estimated Global Impact
-
Governments and Taxpayers: billions saved annually by avoiding high‑cost abatement
-
Global Economy: trillions in avoided costs across hard‑to‑abate sectors
-
Innovators: immediate access to stable, scalable markets
-
Climate Progress: faster, more feasible, more flexible pathways to net zero
What Individuals Can Do
-
Share this idea with friends, colleagues, and community groups
-
Ask your representatives to support opening all science‑aligned pathways
-
Highlight innovators working in permanent CDR
-
Talk about the importance of a complete decarbonization toolkit
What Companies Can Do
-
Encourage governments to unlock all climate-science-aligned pathways to ensure a fair playing field and support global competitiveness now and in future
-
Start measuring supply‑chain emissions
-
Use draft methodologies early
-
Lead on efficiency, innovation, and transparency
-
Prepare for a future where customers increasingly expect products that fit into a sustainable world
What Governments Can Do
Every country will choose its own path. The timeline and ideas below are offered as pragmatic, globally relevant example.
2026
Phase 1 - Immediate Activation
Recognize best‑in‑class voluntary standards already used by leading companies for the missing emission reduction and permanent CDR pathways. This allows governments and organizations to begin using the missing pathways today while public standards finalize.
This is a standards decision, not a spending decision - and it immediately lowers the cost of abatement.
2027-28
Phase 2 - Align Emerging Public Standards
Permanent CDR solutions may be new, but the atmosphere is a shared resource and a permanent removal anywhere in the world can abate an emission from today or yesterday.
Work toward a single global standard per permanent CDR pathway, and align emission-reduction standards as much as possible to allow global fungibility.
Aligning standards improves market efficiency and reduces long‑term costs for taxpayers and industry.
2029+
Phase 3 - Harmonize Internationally
Adopt harmonized global public standards for "do our best" and "remove the rest" solutions, enabling cross‑border markets, pragmatic, lowest-cost solutions for taxpayers, and long‑term certainty for innovators and project developers.
Who Benefits
Public
-
Lower costs for taxpayers
-
Lower costs for net-zero products
-
Faster progress toward national climate goals
-
Confidence that their purchases aren't leaving behind greenhouse gas pollution for future generations
Producers & Innovators
-
Clear rules
-
Stable demand
-
Stronger competitiveness
-
Access to global markets
Governments
-
Lower‑cost abatement
-
Reduced fiscal pressure
-
A pragmatic, science‑aligned policy pathway
Templates
These templates make it easy to take action - whether you’re contacting your representative, reaching out to a company, or sharing this idea with others in your community.
(Note that this "email a company" template combines both the abatement pathways and geo zero product ideas as those two come together for companies in products.)
Email your representative
Email a company
Community message
Case Study: Canada
Canada’s climate toolkit is strong but incomplete. Canada’s experience illustrates a broader global pattern: when standards lag behind science, costs rise and innovation slows.
Permanent CDR pathways are allowed in principle but cannot yet be used because no federal standards exist. As a result, the Canadian taxpayer is paying more for a restricted set of abatement options.
Who would benefit from enabling all climate-aligned pathways in Canada?
-
The Canadian taxpayer could save over a billion dollars per year in addressing the federal government’s emissions
-
Economy wide, Canada could save hundreds of billions of dollars per year in hard-to-abate sectors like oil and gas, transportation, heavy industry, buildings, agriculture, and waste
-
The world could potentially save over 2.5 trillion dollars per year by unlocking permanent CDR pathways for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, which could help make net zero possible and affordable
-
Many Canadian climate technology developers are moving slowly due to market risk. Turning on all of the pathways would immediately give them a large market and let them show their value, accelerating investment into R&D and accelerating financing for their emissions reduction and removal projects
Opening all climate‑science‑aligned pathways - including adopting standards for permanent CDR - is a no‑cost, high‑impact action any country can take immediately. It lowers costs, accelerates net‑zero progress, strengthens innovation, and supports global collaboration.
Thank you for exploring this advocacy idea.