Greenhouse gas removals: call for evidence

This document is Ember's response to a UK government call for evidence on greenhouse gas removals (GGRs). It specifically critiques the reliance on Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS), arguing that the assumption of biomass carbon neutrality is flawed and that the land, environmental, and financial costs of scaling BECCS are prohibitive compared to other GGR methods or direct decarbonisation.

• The viability of BECCS as a negative emissions mechanism relies on the assumption that burning biomass is carbon neutral, but evidence suggests this may be incorrect. The European Academies Sciences Advisory Council (EASAC) indicates that using woody biomass for power may not mitigate climate change and could increase the risk of dangerous climate change. Consequently, there is a high risk that current biomass energy practices are net carbon emitting over the timescales relevant to the Paris Agreement.
• Establishing a realistic magnitude of negative emissions from BECCS is difficult because the carbon impacts of burning wood depend on complex variables, such as the type of wood and the impact on forest carbon sinks. While carbon neutrality is theoretically possible with strict policy measures to ensure only carbon-saving wood is used, such measures do not currently exist in the UK.
• The use of dedicated energy crops for BECCS presents significant environmental and social risks due to the scale of land required. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has presented scenarios requiring 1Mha of UK land and up to 200Mha globally (an area the size of Greenland), which would lead to substantial implications for biodiversity, water consumption, pesticide use, and food competition.
• Large-scale BECCS deployment is likely to be highly expensive and a poor use of public funds compared to wind and solar energy or forest restoration. For example, Drax, the largest biomass user globally, received £832m in public subsidy in 2020; scaling BECCS beyond this capacity would involve even larger costs to the public purse.

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} }