Rome Hosts Global Climate Scientists: New Rules for Carbon Capture Will Reshape Energy Policy

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is convening over 150 scientists in Rome this week—April 14 to 16, 2026—to begin drafting a landmark technical report on carbon dioxide removal and storage technologies. This document will shape how governments worldwide measure and report their climate action for years to come. The 2027 Methodological Report aims to establish the scientific foundation for tracking CO2 capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS)—the process of capturing, using, or permanently storing carbon emissions—in national greenhouse gas inventories, a move that could finally bring transparency to one of the most contentious areas of climate policy.

Why This Matters for Italy and Europe

• New transparency standards: The report will provide governments with updated, internationally recognized methods to estimate and report CO2 emissions and removals, strengthening accountability under the Paris Agreement.

• Timeline: The document will undergo two formal review rounds—first by experts, then jointly by governments and experts—before final approval by IPCC member governments by the end of 2027.

• Hosted in Rome: The inaugural meeting is taking place at the FAO headquarters in Rome, positioning the city as the venue for global climate science collaboration.

• What it means for residents in Italy: The EU Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA)—a binding EU regulation—requires member states to store at least 50 million tonnes of captured CO2 underground annually by 2030. This meeting sets the measurement standards that will determine how Italy tracks its progress toward this goal. For Italian residents and businesses, this translates to potential investment in carbon storage infrastructure, new job opportunities in clean technology sectors, and eventually, carbon removal initiatives that could influence energy costs and industrial policy across the country.

The Science Behind the Policy

Speaking at the Rome gathering, IPCC President Jim Skea delivered a sobering assessment of where the world stands on climate mitigation. "It is almost inevitable" that global temperatures will exceed the 1.5°C warming threshold in the near term, the Scottish physicist and sustainable energy expert told reporters. Yet he stopped short of declaring defeat. "We are not yet at a definitive point of no return," Skea said. "In theory, it is possible to cool the Earth in the long term, especially by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, this requires efforts that are still largely undeveloped—and current government actions are insufficient."

The report being drafted in Rome will address precisely those undeveloped efforts. It will cover a sweeping range of carbon removal and storage approaches: direct air capture (DAC)—industrial machines that pull CO2 directly from the air—soil-based and biomass removal, coastal ecosystem interventions, production of durable materials derived from captured CO2, biochar soil amendments, CO2 capture from water treated at inland and coastal facilities, and even carbonation of cement and lime-based structures. The document will also include guidance on CO2 transport, injection, and sequestration related to enhanced oil, gas, and coalbed methane recovery.

"This report will serve as a fundamental reference for transparent and consistent reporting on climate action, strengthening the scientific basis for mitigation policies," said Takeshi Enoki, co-chair of the IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The Task Force is responsible for developing and refining internationally agreed methodologies and tools for estimating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and removals by signatories to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement.

Why Current Efforts Fall Short

Skea, who holds his position as a scientific assessor rather than a policy advocate, chose his words carefully when discussing national climate commitments. "Current pledges are both unambitious and poorly implemented," he acknowledged in conversation at the FAO. Even the "extraordinarily ambitious" goal of climate neutrality by 2050 remains "mostly a statement of intent," unsupported by concrete policies in most nations.

Without a course correction, the planet could experience roughly 3°C of warming by the end of the century, with cascading impacts on agriculture, fisheries, and food security. "Impacts are already underway, especially related to water: floods, extreme weather events, and sea level rise are the most immediate risks," Skea warned.

Italy's Role in European Carbon Storage

Rome is hosting this week's meeting at the FAO headquarters, with Italian officials highlighting the country's potential role in EU carbon storage infrastructure. Italy has identified potential CO2 storage sites, such as geological formations near Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region, and is developing new projects in collaboration with European partners. Under the NZIA, Italy faces a collective EU obligation to contribute to storing 50 million tonnes of captured CO2 underground annually by 2030. Producers working on carbon capture projects in Italy must submit annual progress reports to the European Commission starting June 30, 2026.

The EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF), adopted in early February 2026, established the world's first government-backed voluntary standard for certifying activities that permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The framework currently covers three main categories: direct air capture with carbon storage (DACCS), capture of biogenic emissions with carbon storage (BioCCS)—recovering CO2 from organic materials—and carbon removal via biochar (BCR). Italian companies and projects using these technologies can now apply for EU certification, a step designed to prevent greenwashing and stimulate investment in climate innovation across Europe.

By the end of 2026, the European Commission is expected to present a formal proposal to integrate carbon removal technologies into the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS)—the bloc's key carbon pricing mechanism—a development that could significantly affect how carbon-intensive industries in Italy operate. Additionally, Brussels has announced the creation of an "EU Buyers' Club" for permanent removals and carbon farming by late 2026, part of the new European Bioeconomy Strategy. This initiative could create markets for Italian agricultural and forestry sectors to participate in carbon credit generation.

The Cost and Scale Challenge

Despite policy momentum, the economics of carbon removal remain daunting. Direct air capture currently costs between €600 and €1,000 per tonne of CO2 removed, with energy demands reaching up to 2,400 kWh per tonne. The industry's focus is on innovation in sorbents, electrified regeneration, and modular scalability to bring costs down to €300-€500 per tonne by 2030. High-profile projects include STRATOS (targeting 500,000 tonnes of CO2 removal annually), Climeworks Mammoth, and Heirloom California, which uses limestone-based DAC with a facility expected to become operational in 2026.

Rock mineralization offers a potentially cheaper alternative. Mineralizing crushed rocks on the surface is estimated at around €8 per tonne of CO2, though this is economically viable only at local scale for materials already extracted. Mineralization in deep underground basaltic formations could cost approximately €30 per tonne, based on pilot projects. The Carbfix project in Iceland has demonstrated costs of about €25 per tonne using existing infrastructure at geothermal plants, with over 90% of injected CO2 transforming into minerals within months to two years.

Currently, 27 DAC plants operate globally, capturing about 0.01 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Over 130 DAC plants are in various stages of development, and if all are realized, sequestration capacity could reach approximately 75 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. To meet net-zero emission targets, a capture capacity of 1 billion tonnes of CO2 annually by 2050 is necessary.

Near-Term Levers for Emissions Reduction

Skea emphasized that the most effective near-term strategies for cutting emissions remain focused on the energy sector: expansion of renewables, nuclear power, and growing electrification of consumption. "There are also natural solutions—such as reforestation and ecosystem protection—and emerging technologies, including direct CO2 capture and rock mineralization. These are promising tools, but still far from large-scale application," he observed.

Biogenic CO2 removal, including bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)—combining renewable energy from biomass with carbon capture—carbon capture at pulp and paper mills, and biochar production, is gaining traction in the market due to cost advantages, infrastructure readiness, and corporate demand for negative emissions.

The Price of Delay

Skea's central message was unambiguous: procrastination compounds costs. "The priority remains to drastically and quickly reduce emissions. The longer action is postponed, the more costs increase," he said. With global operational CO2 capture capacity now at 73 million tonnes per year and nearly 1,300 projects in development, the sector is transitioning from pilot phases to broader commercial deployment. Yet current capacity remains modest compared to global climate goals.

The 2027 Methodological Report being drafted in Rome this week will not resolve the political will deficit that Skea identified, but it will eliminate one excuse for inaction: the claim that measurement and reporting standards are unclear. Once approved, the document will provide governments with a "solid and updated scientific basis" for estimating CO2 emissions and removals, making climate commitments harder to obscure behind vague accounting.

For Italy and residents across the country, the stakes extend beyond hosting this international meeting. With the EU setting binding storage targets and the German government committing €6 billion to industrial decarbonization, Italy's ability to develop carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) infrastructure could determine whether it becomes a climate technology leader or a laggard. The methodological standards being refined in Rome this week will establish the measurement framework that Italy must meet—influencing investment decisions, infrastructure development, and the country's position in Europe's emerging carbon removal economy for the next decade.