The ruthenium hydride RuH(CNN)(dppb) reacts rapidly and irreversibly with CO2 under ambient conditions to yield the corresponding Ru formate complex 2. In contrast, the Ru hydride 1 reacts with acetone reversibly to generate the Ru isopropoxide, with the reaction free energy ΔG°298 K = −3.1 kcal/mol measured by 1H NMR in tetrahydrofuran-d8. Density functional theory (DFT), calibrated to the experimentally measured free energies of ketone insertion, was used to evaluate and compare the mechanism and energetics of insertion of acetone and CO2 into the Ru–hydride bond of 1. The calculated reaction coordinate for acetone insertion involves a stepwise outer-sphere dihydrogen transfer to acetone via hydride transfer from the metal and proton transfer from the N–H group on the CNN ligand. In contrast, the lowest energy pathway calculated for CO2 insertion proceeds by an initial Ru–H hydride transfer to CO2 followed by rotation of the resulting N–H-stabilized formate to a Ru–O-bound formate. DFT calculations were used to evaluate the influence of the ancillary ligands on the thermodynamics of CO2 insertion, revealing that increasing the π acidity of the ligand cis to the hydride ligand and increasing the σ basicity of the ligand trans to it decreases the free energy of CO2 insertion, providing a strategy for the design of metal hydride systems capable of reversible, ergoneutral interconversion of CO2 and formate.