Ecological and social sustainability
It is vital to consider socio-ecological outcomes of Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) methods to ensure their scale-up supports sustainable development. Understanding how best to measure, monitor and model these outcomes will inform decision-making around potential trade-offs between GGR and other ecological and societal concerns across different scales.
Most GGR options will impact social-ecological systems via changing land use and management: from nature-based solutions involving the protection and restoration of different natural habitats or working lands for biosphere carbon-storage, to growing crops for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. Some GGR options may have co-benefits while others may result in environmental damage or compromise resilience and therefore undermine sustainable development.
Criteria for sustainable GGR development
The researchers will develop ecological and social assessment criteria suitable for UK landscapes. These criteria will be based on review of existing life cycle assessment on GGR, input from local and national stakeholders, and emerging data on the efficacy and socio-ecological outcomes of different methods. The assessment criteria developed could then be used to inform target setting in a range of different policy processes, both national and international. In addition, the knowledge gained will be incorporated in scenario modelling to ensure that GGR deployment accounts for a broader set of outcomes beyond just GHG removals.
Aims
The team will deliver the following:
• Assessment of how and where GGR may support or frustrate ecosystem restoration;
• Scenario modelling exploring land use for GGR and nature recovery;
• Input to guidance and tools.
People
Prof Nathalie Seddon
University of Oxford
Dr John Lynch
University of Oxford
