Publications

Seagrass protection and restoration can capture and store carbon, while providing significant other benefits to people and the planet. Deployment of a seagrass carbon code could ensure the benefits of seagrass protection and restoration are tracked for national policy objectives such as including carbon sequestration in the National Inventory Report of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, and contributions to the 25 Year Environment Plan targets.

Emissions Reduction (ER) and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) are both important components of reaching net-zero. However, separating targets for the two is not an efficient way to ensure climate goals are achieved. This paper argues that we need ambitious near-term action, disclose measures to achieve these goals and to closely monitor and manage carbon sinks.

In addition to radical reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, large-scale removal of anthropogenic CO2 will be required to mitigate the impacts of global warming. However, many greenhouse gas removal (GGR) methods remain at a nascent stage of development. A case study was carried out on the application of the collective intelligence (CI) model to the UK GGR sector and the need to scale up and accelerate development in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable way. Through systems mapping, thematic analysis, workshops and semi-structured interviews, a rich dataset was formed on the existing level of and potential for CI within the UK GGR ecosystem. It was found that implementing CI thinking could address the need for increasing the visibility of the system and its workings to participants and the public. This would contribute to the formation of coherent, shared vision for the role of GGR in the UK’s net zero strategy. It is proposed that these risks could be mitigated by creating a publicly accessible ‘commons’ to visualise the UK GGR ecosystem process, dynamics, components, and goals, allowing innovation policy to be more responsive to innovator and net zero policy needs. Increasing ecosystem awareness could lay the foundations for sharing of information, promotion of a more collective culture, and increased transparency and accountability, all of which are critical building blocks in establishing a robust GGR sector for the future.

The deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) needs to be scaled up to achieve net zero emission pledges. This paper surveys the policy mechanisms currently in place globally to incentivise CDR, providing an estimate and distribution of the costs that different mechanisms currently pay per tonne of CDR. Incentive structures are grouped into three structures, market-based, public procurement, and fiscal mechanisms. The authors find that an equal or greater emphasis on policy innovation may be required if future requirements for CDR are to be met. Their study can further support research and policy on the identification of incentive gaps and realistic potential for CDR globally.

We need meaningful societal engagement for an effective and equitable low-carbon transition. Rather than focusing on discrete forms of participation, we need to take a systemic approach to mapping participation with energy by the UK public. This could provide the necessary plural and robust forms of social intelligence for a socially responsive, responsible, and just energy transition.

There has been a widespread assumption of a 90% CO2 capture rate in the future to meet net-zero targets. This paper argues that going beyond 90% capture will be vital, and provides evidence of capture rates of up to 98% in hard-to-abate sectors at a relatively low marginal cost.

A proposed policy framework called 'carbon removal obligations' (CROs) addresses concerns about financial viability, incentives for Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) uptake, and risks associated with large-scale CDR. The updated CRO framework includes a mechanism obliging emitters to remove a tonne of CO2 for every tonne emitted and introduces a pricing instrument for temporary CO2 storage, aiming to independently regulate carbon emissions and removals.

Deliberative workshops conducted with lay publics in the UK showed there to be a lack of trust in the safety and efficacy of CO2 removal. This was driven by doubt injected by fracking discourses, and a ‘ripple effect’ of heightened risk perceptions. This has the potential to undermine attempts to build societal agreement for the future deployment of CO2 removal technologies.

This review examines CCS deployment efforts over the last decade. We reveal that facility deployment must increase dramatically from current levels, and much work remains to maximize storage of CO2 in vast subsurface reserves.

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) has gained increasing attention from climate policymakers and stakeholders as net-zero emissions targets have proliferated as an organizing principle of climate policy. This paper proposes a tripartite conceptual typology of the varieties of CDR policymaking and calls for future comparative work, and fine-grained case-studies on established and emerging CDR policies.