Potential of enhanced rock weathering deployed with UK agriculture to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide

A major new detailed simulation-based analysis reports the first robust estimates of net carbon sequestration for UK farmland by implementing enhanced rock weathering (EW) with basalt, a common natural silicate rock, between 2020 and 2070. Major findings are that EW with UK arable land could sequester a maximum of 6-30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year by 2070. This represents up to 45% of the CO2 emissions removal required for our net-zero by 2050 commitment, with a maximum energy demand of 0.6% of the UK’s power production (i.e. less than 1TWh yr-1). Costs of CO2 by EW are highly competitive relative to industrial carbon dioxide removal technologies required to meet our achieve net-zero emissions, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, and direct air capture. EW can seamlessly integrate with current agricultural practices to support UK food and soil security whilst simultaneously sequestering carbon, with crushed basalt substituting for expensive imported phosphorus and potassium fertilisers. Gaining acceptance of EW across national political, local community and farm scales is crucial, where acceptance means recognition of the need to work with stakeholders and affected publics to identify the conditions under which this technology might proceed. EW should be included in future government and Committee on Climate Change pathways to net-zero. It is immediately deployable with multiple co-benefits for agricultural productivity and the environment. Costs might be met with UK farming subsidies, and with redesigned post-Brexit agricultural policies (e.g., ELMs) funding farmers for delivering net-zero emissions.

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Research theme(s)
Evidence base Policy, business & governance
GGR Method(s)
Enhanced rock weathering
Publication type
Policy briefing/submission
Author(s)
David J. Beerling, Euripides P. Kantzas, Maria Val Martin, Rafael M. Eufrasio, Nick F. Pidgeon and Steven A. Banwart
Publication date
March 16, 2023
Publisher
Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation
CO₂RE - The Greenhouse Gas Removal Hub
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