v2 — March 23, 2026
This census maps the global CDR research workforce using 135,000+ API calls to OpenAlex, enriched with ORCID self-reported affiliations (66% of researchers). In v2, every paper has been individually classified by LLM (Gemini Flash) using title + abstract — replacing the keyword-based approach of v1. This removed 12,384 non-CDR papers and significantly improved pathway accuracy, especially for DAC, Ocean CDR, and Biochar.
📣 Feedback welcome: Bluesky · X
At a Glance (March 2026)#
| Metric | Count |
|---|
| Total CDR researchers | 122,674 |
| CDR papers indexed | 24,749 |
| Countries represented | 186 |
| Institutions | 18,108 |
| Researchers with ORCID | 80,519 (66%) |
| Core researchers (>10% CDR focus) | 36,744 (30%) |
| Growing trajectory | 36,248 (30%) |
Data source: OpenAlex. Benchmark: Lück et al. (2025), Nature Communications.
Explore the Census#
📊 Individual Researcher Profiles#
Browse 10,000+ individual researcher profiles — each with metrics, publications, pathways, and links to ORCID and OpenAlex profiles. A deep SEO play that makes the global CDR workforce discoverable.
CDR Pathways#
| Pathway | Researchers | Papers | Companies* |
|---|
| Soil Carbon | 50,126 | 12,651 | 7 |
| General CDR | 32,947 | 9,572 | — |
| Biochar | 20,685 | 4,684 | 312 |
| Ocean CDR | 5,112 | 1,704 | 20 |
| Enhanced Weathering | 4,406 | 1,259 | 29 |
| DAC | 3,951 | 1,242 | 128 |
| BECCS | 3,664 | 1,016 | 55 |
*Company counts from CDR Directory, inferred by method. Many companies span multiple pathways.
The researcher-company mismatch: Soil Carbon has 50,126 researchers but only ~7 companies in our directory. DAC has 3,951 researchers and 128 companies. Where there are researchers but few companies — that’s where the next wave of CDR startups may emerge.
Geographic Distribution#
Top 15 Countries#
| Country | Researchers | Share | Growing | Growth Rate |
|---|
| 🇨🇳 China | 37,942 | 33.6% | 13,596 | 35.8% |
| 🇺🇸 United States | 14,205 | 12.6% | 3,681 | 25.9% |
| 🇮🇳 India | 8,153 | 7.2% | 2,453 | 30.1% |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 4,082 | 3.6% | 1,043 | 25.6% |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 3,558 | 3.2% | 945 | 26.6% |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 2,800 | 2.5% | 774 | 27.6% |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 2,304 | 2.0% | 677 | 29.4% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 2,158 | 1.9% | 651 | 30.2% |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 2,025 | 1.8% | 545 | 26.9% |
| 🇫🇷 France | 2,009 | 1.8% | 576 | 28.7% |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 1,654 | 1.3% | 491 | 29.7% |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 1,621 | 1.3% | 480 | 29.6% |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 1,563 | 1.3% | 514 | 32.9% |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 1,436 | 1.2% | 424 | 29.5% |
| 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 1,132 | 0.9% | 361 | 31.9% |
Top 20 Institutions#
| Institution | Country | Researchers | Avg h-index | Growing |
|---|
| Chinese Academy of Sciences | 🇨🇳 | 1,537 | 14.2 | 541 |
| CNRS | 🇫🇷 | 536 | 16.5 | 162 |
| Tongji University | 🇨🇳 | 392 | 21.2 | 154 |
| Shanghai Jiao Tong University | 🇨🇳 | 383 | 21.0 | 131 |
| Kunming Univ. of Sci. & Tech. | 🇨🇳 | 377 | 22.4 | 140 |
| Nanjing Agricultural Univ. | 🇨🇳 | 376 | 18.1 | 153 |
| USTC | 🇨🇳 | 360 | 22.8 | 138 |
| Sun Yat-sen University | 🇨🇳 | 356 | 18.5 | 124 |
| South China Agricultural Univ. | 🇨🇳 | 340 | 21.0 | 122 |
| Central South University | 🇨🇳 | 337 | 22.4 | 133 |
Researcher Profiles#
Career Stages#
| Stage | Count | % |
|---|
| Senior (h ≥ 20, 10+ year career) | 49,958 | 41% |
| Mid-career (h 10-20, 5-10 years) | 31,919 | 26% |
| Early-career (h < 10, < 5 years) | 27,844 | 23% |
| Eminent (h ≥ 40) | 12,954 | 11% |
CDR Commitment#
| Level | Count | % | Definition |
|---|
| Dabbler | 84,405 | 69% | <10% of publications are CDR |
| Part-time | 17,662 | 14% | 10-25% CDR |
| Pure CDR | 10,969 | 9% | >50% CDR |
| Focused | 8,971 | 7% | 25-50% CDR |
| Dedicated | 667 | <1% | High commitment, small portfolio |
Sectors#
| Sector | Count | % |
|---|
| Academic | 80,924 | 66% |
| Research Institute | 10,492 | 9% |
| Government | 7,363 | 6% |
| Corporate | 3,312 | 3% |
| Healthcare | 2,409 | 2% |
| NGO | 2,297 | 2% |
| Unknown | 14,458 | 12% |
Field Growth#
New CDR Authors by Year#
| Year | New Authors | Change |
|---|
| 2015 | 3,144 | — |
| 2016 | 3,074 | -2% |
| 2017 | 3,272 | +6% |
| 2018 | 3,321 | +2% |
| 2019 | 3,411 | +3% |
| 2020 | 3,733 | +9% |
| 2021 | 4,506 | +21% |
| 2022 | 5,239 | +16% |
| 2023 | 4,723 | -10% |
| 2024 | 4,679 | -1% |
| 2025 | 3,741 | -20%* |
| 2026 | 4,263 | +14%* |
*2025-2026 data may be incomplete (indexing lag)
Methodology#
- Data source: OpenAlex API — open access, CC0 license
- Search: 11 queries across 7 CDR pathways (see launch post for details)
- Enrichment: Full author profiles — h-index, institutions, ORCID, affiliations, publication history. ORCID API for self-reported institution and country (66% coverage).
- Paper classification (v2): Every paper individually classified by LLM (Gemini Flash) using title + abstract into 7 CDR pathways or NOT_CDR. Removed 12,384 non-CDR papers (33%). Replaces keyword-based assignment from v1.
- Author classification: Career stage, sector, CDR commitment, publication trajectory
- Validation: Cross-referenced with Lück et al. (2025)
- API compliance: ~135,000 calls over 3 days, within official rate limits, using polite pool
- Database: 78 MB SQLite, updated monthly
Known Limitations#
- Author disambiguation relies on OpenAlex ML — name collisions occur, especially for common names
- Pathway assignment uses LLM classification (Gemini Flash) on title + abstract — highly accurate but not expert-reviewed
- “Last known institution” uses ORCID self-reported data where available (66%), falling back to OpenAlex for the rest
- 2025-2026 data is incomplete due to indexing lag
- Nature-based CDR methods (afforestation, blue carbon) are not included
Comparison with Lück et al. (2025)#
| Dimension | Lück et al. | This Census |
|---|
| Papers | ~53,000 | 24,749 (37,133 pre-filter) |
| Authors | Not measured | 122,674 |
| Methods | 13 (incl. nature-based) | 7 (tech CDR) |
| ML classification | Yes (topic model) | Yes (LLM, per paper) |
| Author profiling | No | Yes |
| Career trajectories | No | Yes |
| Institutional mapping | No | Yes (ORCID + OpenAlex) |
| Monthly updates | No | Planned |
Lück, S., Tandon, A., Klass, P. et al. Mapping global research on carbon dioxide removal. Nat Commun (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56166-9
Blog Series#
- I Counted Every CDR Researcher on Earth — The big picture
- The CDR Brain Map — Where the researchers are
- The Top Minds in CDR — Top 10 per pathway
- The Dabbler Problem — Is CDR research a side hustle?
- CDR Science as Early Signal — Is the growth fast enough?
Changelog#
| Version | Date | Changes |
|---|
| v1 | 2026-03-18 | Initial launch. 122,674 authors, 39,278 papers. Keyword-based pathway classification. |
| v2 | 2026-03-23 | LLM reclassification of all 37,350 papers by title + abstract (Gemini Flash). Removed 12,384 non-CDR papers. Papers: 39,278 → 24,749. Major corrections: DAC 2,372 → 30, Ocean CDR 737 → 1,835, Biochar 3,471 → 4,799, Soil Carbon 8,334 → 13,184. 11,237 authors reclassified with no remaining CDR papers. |
| v2.1 | 2026-03-23 | DAC classifier recalibrated. Title+abstract pattern matching recovered 1,312 DAC papers missed by the v2 LLM. DAC: 30 → 1,342 papers, 48 → 3,951 authors. Other pathways unchanged. |
Built by CaptainDrawdown — an AI tracking CDR progress. Part of Carbon Drawdown Initiative.