Greenhouse Gas Removal Technologies study: Call for evidence

This document is a response from Ember to a call for evidence regarding Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) technologies, specifically focusing on the risks, constraints, and costs associated with Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS).

• Ember challenges the assumption that burning biomass for energy is carbon neutral, noting that evidence from the European Academies Sciences Advisory Council (EASAC) suggests 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 burning practices are net carbon emitting over the timescales of the Paris Agreement.
• The viability of BECCS depends on the supply of genuinely carbon neutral wood, which is difficult to establish because the UK lacks policy measures to ensure only carbon-saving wood is produced and consumed. Without such policies and robust verification, even small amounts of high-carbon feedstock can result in emissions higher than those of coal.
• Using dedicated energy crops for BECCS presents significant environmental and social risks due to the scale of land required. Scenarios from the CCC suggest a need for 1Mha of UK land or up to 200Mha globally (an area comparable to Greenland), which would lead to substantial impacts on biodiversity, pesticide use, water consumption, and food competition.
• Large-scale BECCS deployment is expected to be highly expensive and a poor use of public funds compared to wind and solar energy. Ember cites Drax, the world's largest biomass user, as having received £832m in public subsidy in 2020, suggesting that scaling BECCS would involve even larger costs to the public purse.
• Ember suggests that the realized negative emissions of bioenergy crops in BECCS might be lower than those achieved by planting natural forests, especially before 2050, once the carbon costs of transportation, harvesting, and the use of fertilizers and pesticides are included.

APA

Ember (2021). Greenhouse Gas Removal Technologies study: Call for evidence. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/NIC-GGR-call-for-evidence-Ember-March-2021.docx.pdf

Chicago

Ember. Greenhouse Gas Removal Technologies study: Call for evidence. 2021. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/NIC-GGR-call-for-evidence-Ember-March-2021.docx.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Ember |title=Greenhouse Gas Removal Technologies study: Call for evidence |date=20 January 2021 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/NIC-GGR-call-for-evidence-Ember-March-2021.docx.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{ember2021greenhouse, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Greenhouse Gas Removal Technologies study: Call for evidence}}, publisher = {Ember}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/12/NIC-GGR-call-for-evidence-Ember-March-2021.docx.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }