The elimination of greenhouse gases could make the UK carbon neutral by 2050

EBU researchers have contributed to an ambitious plan to make the UK carbon-neutral by 2050 through greenhouse gas abatement technologies.

The technologies discussed in a new report range from well-known and ready-to-deploy methods, such as reforestation, to more speculative technologies such as direct air capture – which aim to use chemical processes to remove CO2 from the environment. 'atmosphere.

This is the first time that various GGR technologies have been evaluated for their real potential for joint use to meet UK climate goals over the next 30 years.

The report from the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society states that the UK's first priority must be to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but that GGR technologies have a role to play in reducing emissions. limited.

But the research team says immediate action is needed to achieve climate goals.

For the United Kingdom to achieve net emissions in 2050, it will be necessary to eliminate approximately 130 megatons of CO2 annually, even with drastic reductions in emissions.

The report also looks at the global situation and describes a scenario in which a portfolio of GGR technologies can be implemented together to achieve carbon removal around the world by 2100 in order to reduce the carbon footprint. achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Biological solutions such as tree planting will become saturated by the end of the century and other GGR technologies will need to be developed and used in the longer term.

Each technology is evaluated based on its ability to deploy in the required time scale, scalability potential, costs, environmental and social impacts, and excess carbon removal capacity to achieve the objectives.

Professor Corinne Le Quere, Director of the Tyndall Center for Climate Change at the UEA, was part of the report working group. She said: "It is essential that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly and aggressively, especially CO2, but we will also have to resort to the elimination of greenhouse gases to meet climate goals. set in the Paris Agreement and limit the devastating effects of climate change impacts.

"The important thing is that we must act now, and this report presents a range of greenhouse gas removal technologies that can already be deployed.

"Changes include improved forest cover to cover 5% of UK land, restoration of peatlands and wetlands and use of wood as a building material".

The net zero scenario UK 2050

UK-adapted GGR technologies to meet net emissions by 2050

Ready-to-use GGR methods such as reforestation, habitat restoration, soil carbon sequestration and construction with wood or gaseous waste could provide just over a quarter of the time. the target to achieve net emissions.

Biochar, increased land degradation in agricultural soils, direct air capture (DACCS), and bioenergy associated with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) could contribute to the rest of the 2050.

What we need to do to get net issues in the UK

• Rapidly increase the afforestation rate to 5% of UK land, restore wetlands and salt marshes and store more carbon in farmland.
• Establish an incentive or subsidy system to encourage farmers to use their land to store carbon. This could be part of the framework that replaces the Common Agricultural Policy after the departure of the UK from the EU.
• Encourage changes in construction practices to use wood and cement made with gaseous waste.
• Develop better ways to monitor the effectiveness of GGR technologies.
• Continue research on the potential of longer-term GGR technologies, such as improved aging, biochar, BECCS and DACCS.
• Capitalize on the UK's strengths in engineering and industry to put in place the necessary infrastructure for storing CO2.

How to comply with the Paris Agreement using GGR technologies

The report also calls for action in a number of key areas to achieve the overall objectives of the Paris Agreement.

• Pursue and intensify global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Implement a global portfolio of GGR technologies to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
• Build a carbon capture and storage infrastructure, critical to achieving the scale required to meet climate goals.
• Encourage investments in the development and management of GGR projects to assess their real potential and understand the environmental and social impacts.
• Establish incentives, such as carbon pricing, to pay for the elimination of CO2 and encourage companies to use a wide range of GGR technologies.
• Establish a framework to govern the use of GGR technologies that address sustainability and engage the public.
• Build GGR into regulatory frameworks and carbon trading systems.
• Establish international scientific standards to monitor the effectiveness of GGR technologies and their environmental impacts.

Naomi Vaughan, EBU Faculty of Environmental Sciences, said: "This report highlights that in addition to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, we can take steps to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, such as the restoration of habitats and forests, in the long term, the net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors, combined with the development of a portfolio of greenhouse gas abatement technologies, will require rapid and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Professor Nilay Shah, director of the Center for Process Systems Engineering at Imperial College London and a member of the report working group, said: "The provision of these technologies on the necessary scale will present many challenges. scientists and governments around the world.

Supplied by the University of East Anglia

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