Greenhouse gas removals: call for evidence

Ember argues that the viability of BECCS as a negative emissions mechanism is undermined by the fact that burning biomass may be net carbon emitting rather than carbon neutral. The document highlights the lack of UK policy measures to ensure carbon-saving biomass production and warns that the land requirements for energy crops could lead to significant food, water, and biodiversity impacts. Furthermore, Ember contends that public subsidies for BECCS are expensive and potentially less effective than investing in rapid decarbonisation or natural forest restoration.

• The assumption that BECCS delivers negative emissions relies on biomass burning being carbon neutral, but evidence suggests woody biomass for power may actually increase the risk of dangerous climate change and be net carbon emitting over Paris Agreement timescales.
• The UK lacks the necessary policy measures and robust verification to ensure that biomass feedstock delivers actual carbon savings, making it difficult to determine the realistic magnitude of negative emissions BECCS can provide.
• Scaling energy crop production for BECCS presents severe environmental and social risks; the CCC suggests scenarios requiring 1Mha of UK land or up to 200Mha globally, which would impact food competition, water consumption, pesticide use, and biodiversity.
• Large-scale BECCS deployment is likely to be prohibitively expensive for the public purse, as evidenced by Drax receiving £832m in public subsidy in 2020, and may be less cost-effective than wind, solar, or forest restoration.

APA

Ember (2020). Greenhouse gas removals: call for evidence. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/GGR-call-for-evidence-Ember-Feb-2021.docx.pdf

Chicago

Ember. Greenhouse gas removals: call for evidence. 2020. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/GGR-call-for-evidence-Ember-Feb-2021.docx.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Greenhouse gas removals: call for evidence |date=4 December 2020 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/GGR-call-for-evidence-Ember-Feb-2021.docx.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2020greenhouse, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Greenhouse gas removals: call for evidence}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/GGR-call-for-evidence-Ember-Feb-2021.docx.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }