Modern Technology Can Reduce Legacy Emissions
Global climate change is a human-made existential threat to all life on Earth that humanity must quickly solve. Given this urgency, NWF believes that all feasible proven and promising measures need to be considered to achieve deep and scalable greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions across all economic sectors to preserve habitat and species, while limiting economic disruption. It is also incumbent upon NWF to ensure that the burdens resulting from climate change and climate remediation solutions do not continue to fall on our most vulnerable communities, both geographic and demographic, and that those most at risk from climate change impacts be strategically and proactively involved in determining which climate measures are best for them to ensure that people, wildlife, and ecosystems thrive despite accelerating climate and biodiversity crises.
NWF supports solutions that reduce CO2 and other GHGs for all sectors, particularly in the United States. NWF strongly supports the use of nature-based strategies to minimize atmospheric CO2 and buffer against impacts, but acknowledges they are not sufficient for the scale of emissions reductions needed.
This is where the use of modern technologies like carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) come in.
Even with the deployment of renewables and technological solutions like carbon capture and storage, there will still be some emissions that are difficult to abate. Since human activity as altered the Earth’s natural carbon cycle, we also face the threat of historic or legacy CO2 emissions that have built up and remained in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. NWF acknowledges that legacy emissions are continually harder for our carbon cycle to process, as the efficiency of our natural carbon sinks like forests and oceans decline. For these more difficult emissions, NWF supports exploring carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies as a part of total efforts to achieve IPPC goals. These are techniques that remove CO2 directly from the air or ocean. One example of developing CDR technology is direct air capture (DAC), which uses chemical processes to bind to CO2, which can later be separated into a pure stream for sequestration or low-carbon feedstocks.
In 2022, the industrial sector accounted for about 30% of the total US GHG emissions, and are the third largest source of direct emissions, with iron/steel and cement production in the top-emitting sectors.
In the case where CO2 emissions cannot be avoided, like these manufacturing processes, point-source carbon capture relies on using technology, either pre- or post-combustion, to capture the CO2 which can later be stored permanently underground or used as a feedstock to create low-carbon products and fuels.
Within the industrial sector, NWF analyzes and advocates for varied solutions such as fuel-switching, increased efficiency, increased use of renewable energy sources, and carbon capture, use, storage, and removal for unavoidable and residual emissions. These industrial sector strategies are not exclusive of other strategies we advance to curb climate change, such as natural carbon sequestration or phasing out fossil fuel-based power generation and replacing it with responsibly-sited renewable energy. The current state of low- and zero-emission technology and energy resources leave heavy industry with few cost-effective and scalable options for reducing GHG emissions to desirable levels.
Carbon Management Policy
Effective carbon management requires accommodation of continued but diminishing fossil-fueled industrial activity by both developed and developing economies, while not adversely impacting the health and well-being of already vulnerable communities and developing nations. With that, consideration of a variety of approaches will be crucial, including protecting and enhancing natural carbon sinks, and considering technologies for carbon capture and removal. The objectives of these actions are:
1) Eliminating/reducing new emissions (near-term). Reducing industrial emissions at their source by improving efficiency and electrifying key processes, transitioning to renewable and zero-carbon energy where possible, and reusing or capturing and storing unavoidable or residual carbon emissions; and
2) Eliminating existing atmospheric gasses (long-term). Confronting the build-up of historic legacy emissions in the atmosphere through safe carbon removal technology and technology-enhanced nature-based practices that supplement natural carbon sinks.
Picturing Carbon Management in America
NWF partnered with D.C.-based think tank Third Way’s Climate and Energy program and architecture firm Gensler to develop the visual renderings below that showcase examples of DAC and other carbon management solutions, paired with clean energy technologies in various settings. These renderings can be used by NGOs, advocates, and policymakers to engage with the public and highlight a visual template for a future economy that provides cleaner, more affordable, secure, and reliable energy for various American communities. Learn more about these renderings here.
This suburban direct air capture setting illustrates not only the modular potential of DAC to fit a community’s needs but also demonstrates that the deployment of carbon removal technology alongside natural climate solutions like rain gardens and local pollinator sites can succeed in a community without being invasive.
This rural setting for DAC illustrates how a larger facility can complement nature-based carbon removal by annually drawing down thousands of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. While this larger rural facility will require more energy than a suburban DAC plant, wind turbines on the horizon and geothermal energy coming from the plant across the river will minimize costs and power the capture process with zero-emissions energy.
A Decision-Making Tool for Carbon Management in Wyoming
The Wyoming Carbon Management and Wildlife Decision-Support Tool combines publicly accessible wildlife and climate data for the state with existing and projected carbon management infrastructure and is made for a variety of audiences to access and explore. NWF hopes the tool will serve as a resource to help facilitate an ongoing conversation around carbon management infrastructure and technology development that is considerate of wildlife, habitats, and ecosystems. Working together to protect biodiversity and sensitive ecosystems will be paramount to responsible deployment of the technologies that will decarbonize our societies and play a role in climate action. Explore the tool here.
This map was made possible by Carbon Solutions, an energy research organization focused on work to accelerate the transition to a net-zero carbon economy, assisting with the StoryMap development; Two Sigma Data Clinic, a data science studio, assisting with the data collection; and Wyoming Game & Fish Department, a state agency enhancing and protecting Wyoming’s exceptional fish and wildlife resources and habitats, assisting with review.
Check out this webinar held by Carbon Solutions that dives deeper into why the tool was developed and how to use it.
Carbon Removal Justice Fellowship Program
In Partnership with American University’s Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal (IRCR), our organizations agree that CDR is considered an essential component of humanity’s response to climate change. Not all forms of carbon removal are, though, created equal. Ethical carbon removal will help the world meet climate goals and should maximize benefits and minimize hardship, particularly for people living in frontline and environmental justice communities. The National Wildlife Federation and the Institute created this program in 2023 to provide a space for leaders across environmental justice, policy, and academia to learn more about carbon removal developments and deployments in the U.S. and around the world. NWF and the Institute approach this work with a sense of care, nuance, and pragmatism. Our goal with this program is to create a community of mutual learning and curiosity as we navigate the international, federal, and state level landscapes of carbon removal.
Last summer, fellows had a chance to spend a week in Washington D.C. and a week in Louisiana, meeting with community leaders and policymakers grappling with decisions around carbon removal. The two-week Fellows Program ran from July 14-25, 2025.
2025 Carbon Removal Justice Fellows cohort meeting with members of Louisiana State University’s Institute for Energy Innovation after a panel on community engagement and carbon management in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
2023 Carbon Removal Justice Fellows cohort and program staff meeting with members of the Senate Budget Committee on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. Photo Courtesy of 2023 NWF-CRJ Fellow Jake Ferrell.
Programming across the two weeks included:
- Federal policy panel with former government officials, philanthropy, and environmental justice advocates
- Capitol Hill visit to Senate offices
- Environmental justice panel with DC-based environmental justice and community advocates
- DC NGO, think tank, buyer, industry panels
- Louisiana climate, energy, and wildlife conservation NGOs panel
- Southeastern Louisiana University environmental research presentation and Lake Maurepas field trip with Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station
- State Officials, Louisiana State University Institute for Energy Innovation, and NGO panel on Louisiana policy, community engagement, and research
- Community benefits discussions with industry, Louisiana State University Institute for Energy Innovation, American University Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal, and Columbia Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
2025 Fellowship Blogs:
Videos
Resources & Blogs
National Wildlife Federation Briefs, Factsheets, & Reports:
CO2 Pipeline Regulation and Policy Education Memo
Informing Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal: Best Practices for Tribal and Indigenous Engagement
Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2): An Impact Analysis
Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Factsheet
Carbon Management: Community Takeaways in Louisiana
Hydrogen in Louisiana: Intersections with Offshore Wind and Carbon Management
Capturing Industrial Carbon: Examining Potential Air Quality Benefits
Public Perceptions of Carbon Dioxide Removal in Wyoming, Texas, Louisiana, and Colorado
Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide: The State of Responsible Primacy
Charting a Path to Just Direct Air Capture Hubs
Carbon Management Policy Platform
State of Science Carbon Management White Paper
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Pollution
National Wildlife Federation Blogs:
The Importance of American Industrial Innovation
Measuring Carbon Dioxide Removal for Climate Justice
Community Benefits Plans: Where Do They Stand Now?
What is Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal?
The Importance of Environmental Monitoring
Achilles’ Steel: Broadening Horizons in Carbon Dioxide Removal
Weighing Carbon: Understanding Global Emissions
Carbon Removal in California
Carbon Removal Meets Environmental Justice: A Fellow’s Perspective
Carbon Recycling: Reduce, Remove, Reuse
Five Things to Know About Carbon Dioxide Removal
Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage is an Important Climate Solution
Infrastructure is Key: What is Needed for CCUS Deployment
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