Circular Use of Carbon and the Current Regulatory Framework: Enabler or Barrier?

Abstract

Keeping carbon in the loop within the technosphere is a promising idea from a technical perspective when striving for climate-neutral production. Reporting obligations for greenhouse gases have been focused on release into the atmosphere, often under the tacit assumption that any greenhouse gas (GHG) formed will eventually be emitted. Technologies that build on carbon capture face a situation where regulations are lacking terms to describe processes that produce or use carbon dioxide but do not release it. This work aims to highlight this situation and to provide suggestions to overcome some of the hurdles.