In the race to net zero, attention is turning to solutions that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Among them, technologies for the capture and geological storage of atmospheric CO 2 are promising, while the capture and utilization of CO 2 is a more uncertain way to significantly mitigate climate change. In this review, we aim at examining solutions to utilize and store CO 2 in products in order to identify those eligible for negative emissions and quantify their potentials. First, we review the scientific literature and point out that CO 2 utilization could both enable the production of goods and suck CO 2 out of the atmosphere if employed for solvents, refrigerants or working fluids, or converted into carbonates and plastics. Then, we review energy models that explore the future potential of CO 2 utilization to understand whether negative emissions are envisioned through CO 2 utilization routes. We note that only a few models represent the negative emissions value chains through CO 2 utilization, and even fewer report them in the results of their exercise. Finally, we discuss the feasibility and impacts of CO 2 utilization deployment as well as its representation in energy models, considering the complexity of this value chain.