Carbon Dioxide Removal: Is the Science & Policy Keeping Up with the Market?

The rapid global push to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – and the question of whether it can be done safely, credibly and at scale – will be the focus of the next Climate Crisis Lecture at St John’s College.Professor Gideon Henderson CBE FRS, an Honorary Fellow of St John’s and one of the UK’s most senior scientific voices on climate and the environment, will deliver the lecture.Carbon Dioxide Removal: Is the Science and Policy Keeping Up with the Market?The lecture will take place at 5pm on Tuesday 3 March 2026 in the Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.Professor Henderson is Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford. A geochemist whose research focuses on the carbon cycle, oceans and past climate change. As Chief Scientific Advisor and Director General for Science Analysis at Defra (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), 2019-2025, he has had leadership roles in UK environmental policy and experience at the interface of research, regulation and public decision-making.Professor Henderson said: “Since the Paris Agreement, it has been clear that cutting emissions alone will not be enough to keep warming below 2°C - we will also need large-scale removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) has moved rapidly from theory to commercial activity, with more than 200 companies involved and billions already invested."The lecture will ask what must be done, as demand for CDR credits grows, to ensure they have real climate value and do not cause unintended environmental harm.The lecture will be followed by a discussion featuring St John’s Fellows Professor Laura Diaz Anadon, Professor of Climate Change Policy, and Professor Andy Woods, Head of the University’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows. Professor Woods’ research includes work on geological carbon storage and subsurface energy systems, while Professor Diaz Anadon’s work focuses on climate policy, innovation and governance.The Climate Crisis Lecture series is organized by the college’s Climate Crisis Committee and reflects St John’s College’s commitment to fostering informed debate on the scientific, economic and policy dimensions of climate change, and to showcasing research and ideas aimed at addressing the climate crisis.

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