IPCC Opens Expert Review of First Draft on Carbon Removal and CCUS Inventory Guidance

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has opened the first formal review of its upcoming 2027 Methodology Report on Carbon Dioxide Removal Technologies, Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage. The Expert Review of the First Order Draft runs from November 2 to December 20, 2026.

The report is being prepared by the IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI). It'll give governments additional methods for estimating and reporting emissions and removals linked to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in their national greenhouse gas inventories.

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How the Expert Review Works

Experts can register through the IPCC review portal until December 11, 2026, at 23:59 CET. Registration opened on October 5.

Expert review is the first step in the IPCC's multi-stage review process. Authors will use the comments to revise the text before preparing the Second Order Draft.

"Expert review is essential to ensuring that IPCC methodology guidance is scientifically sound," said Mazhar Hayat, Co-Chair of the IPCC TFI.

Fellow Co-Chair Takeshi Enoki noted that inventory methods need to keep pace as carbon removal and capture technologies develop. He said the report will help countries meet that challenge.

What the Report Covers

The report will include an Overview Chapter and six volumes. Its structure mirrors the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, so inventory compilers can use the new guidance alongside the existing framework.

A new Volume 6 addresses CO2 capture from combustion and process gases, direct air capture, CO2 utilization, transport, and geological injection and storage. It also covers CO2 removal through direct capture from water already processed at inland and coastal facilities.

Land, Coastal, and Materials Pathways

Other topics include soil carbon sinks enhanced through biochar and weathering, carbonation of cement and lime-based structures, and durable biomass products. Coastal wetlands removals, including mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass, are also in scope.

The guidance will also address CO2 transport, including cross-border issues, and products containing or derived from captured or removed CO2.

From Lima to Kathmandu

IPCC member governments approved the report outline at the Panel's 63rd Session in Lima, Peru, held October 27 to 30, 2025. Around 150 Coordinating Lead Authors and Lead Authors are now involved.

The first Lead Author Meeting took place April 14 to 16, 2026, at the Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome. More than 120 authors then met in Mexico City from August 11 to 14 to advance the First Order Draft.

The Mexico City meeting was hosted by the National Autonomous University of Mexico with support from the Government of Mexico.

Next Milestones

The third Lead Author Meeting is set for January 19 to 22, 2027, in Kathmandu, Nepal. A Government and Expert Review of the Second Order Draft is planned for mid-2027.

A Government Review of the Final Draft will follow in the second half of 2027. The report is then expected to go to the IPCC Panel for consideration and publication later that year.

About the IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme. Its Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories develops the methodologies countries use to calculate and report their greenhouse gas emissions and removals.