Enhanced Rock Weathering for Carbon Dioxide Removal: An Integrated Review of Potential, Challenges, and Pathways to Scalable and Sustainable Implementation

Abstract Enhanced rock weathering is an emerging CO2 removal strategy with considerable potential to mitigate climate change while providing additional agricultural and environmental benefits. By 2050, enhanced rock weathering has a global CO2 removal potential of 0.5–2 gigatons of CO2 annually and can increase crop yields on agricultural land by 7 to 20%. However, large-scale implementation encounters technical, environmental, economic, and regulatory challenges. In this review, we consolidate research from geochemistry, agronomy, economics, environmental science, and policy to present an integrated analysis. We outline novel analytical approaches, including reframing heavy-metal risk as an optimization challenge and critically evaluating the scalability–permanence trade-off in CO2 removal portfolios. In this review, we identify strategic future research needs to support enhanced rock weathering’s role as a transformative solution for climate and sustainability. Key research needs include optimizing particle size while minimizing comminution energy requirements; evaluating the long-term accumulation, mobility, and ecological effects of potentially toxic elements; developing spatially resolved techno-economic and life-cycle assessments; establishing standardized and scalable MRV frameworks; and implementing coordinated, long-term field trials across geographically and pedo-climatically diverse environments. Addressing these challenges will be essential to determine enhanced rock weathering’s potential contribution to climate mitigation and to define the environmental and economic conditions under which deployment can scale responsibly. This review serves as a foundational resource for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking a comprehensive understanding of enhanced rock weathering. It identifies persistent knowledge gaps and proposes an ethical framework to guide future large-scale implementation and governance.