UH oceanographer selected as lead author of IPCC report on CO2 removal approaches
David Ho. Credit: Greg Pak.
SOEST oceanography professor David Ho was selected as a lead author for the 2027 IPCC Methodology Report on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). The report will give guidance to countries regarding how to estimate and report the emissions they manage through CDR and CCUS as part of their national greenhouse gas inventories.
CDR and CCUS are tools that aim to help countries achieve their emissions and climate targets, and the diversity of approaches to remove and capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are growing fast.
“However, countries currently lack consistent, scientifically rigorous guidance on estimating and reporting the emissions they manage through these technologies in their national greenhouse gas inventories,” said Ho. “Without that, it’s very difficult to hold anyone accountable or to determine whether CDR and CCUS are actually delivering on their promises. This methodology report is about building the foundation to get the accounting right so that progress in CDR and CCUS is real and verifiable.”
The current federal administration withdrew the U.S. from the IPCC process earlier this year, creating a gap in American expert representation in the IPCC. An observer organization nominated Ho so that U.S.-based expertise could still contribute to this report.
“The IPCC has brought together lead authors from a wide range of disciplines and geographies, and the conversations are already substantive and rigorous,” Ho said. “There’s a real shared sense that this report matters, that it will shape how governments think about CDR and CCUS for years to come. It’s a significant commitment, but one I think is genuinely worth making.”
The First Lead Author Meeting was held in Rome, Italy, in April 2026. Over 150 experts, selected by the IPCC Task Force Bureau, are participating in the writing process. By the Second Lead Author Meeting in Mexico City in August 2026, they will have produced a Zero-Order Draft of the Methodology Report. In an effort to make the report useful and easier to use by inventory compilers, the Methodology Report will be consistent with previous IPCC Guidelines.
Read also on UH News.