Stabilising global temperatures necessitates urgent and drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of the economy. This requires both policy interventions and actions we can take as individuals. However, some sectors are unlikely to be able to reduce their emissions to zero, so we will need to offset those emissions by using greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies. One such technology is BECCS – biomass energy with carbon capture and storage.
In PBC4GGR we are investigating the potential for plants like willow and miscanthus to support BECCS in the UK. We will demonstrate novel establishment techniques that maximise yield whilst minimising greenhouse gas emissions, and provide an up to date quantification of the scope for greenhouse gas removal. We will establish the conditions required for farmer uptake and wider societal acceptance, and investigate the costs, benefits and trade offs for biodiversity and ecosystem services. In conjunction with other GGR projects and a coordinating hub we will determine the appropriate scale of implementation of BECCS in the UK compared to other GGR approaches.
