Washington Post - In the next fortnight, Britain plans to announce a raft of environmental policies in a big splash internally dubbed “Green Day.” So, news on much-needed planning reforms, green finance, electric vehicle manufacturing, domestic insulation, heat pumps and so on is likely.
But we got a first step this week with a spending pledge on a climate technology that many view as vital to the clean-energy transition.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced £20 billion ($24 billion) in funding for carbon capture, usage and storage (sometimes referred to as simply carbon capture and storage, or CCS) over 20 years. It’s a punchy investment that gives certainty where it was lacking, but something is missing.
A consensus is steadily forming that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is an essential piece of the net-zero puzzle. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) now concedes that, due to slow action on emissions reduction, engineered carbon removal is now essential to limit warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius. In the UK, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), a government advisory body, says that 19% of the UK’s emissions abatement will come from a combination of carbon capture and removal by 2050. The UK government has already set targets to store 20-30 million tons of CO2 a year by 2050 and deploy at least 5 million tons of annual engineered greenhouse gas removals by 2030.
But CCS is not the same as CDR, and that distinction matters here.
Think of CCS as neutral emissions (or nearly neutral, as it’s not 100% efficient) – it refers to capturing carbon dioxide at the source, say a power plant or factory, and then injecting it underground. It is a proven technology, though has developed a bad reputation for its use in “enhanced oil recovery,” in which the captured CO2 is used to help to push deep or viscous oil out of wells. Not exactly good PR for a future climate technology. But there’s no doubt CCS will be helpful in the transition as an emissions reduction method, as long as it’s not used as an excuse to slow down the transition away from fossil fuels. Gas CCS is likely to play a small role in a net zero electricity grid, for example. It’ll also help reduce emissions from some hard-to-abate sectors like heavy industry.
Carbon removal, on the other hand, is about drawing down historical emissions by either utilizing nature – through reforestation, for example – or new technologies like direct air capture (DAC) and has the potential to essentially sweep up the excess CO2 we’ve pumped into the atmosphere. CDR – nature-based or otherwise – is projected to play a large role in healing our planet, but a lot of approaches are still in the early development stages and need more investment.
That’s why it’s a little disappointing that the UK’s £20 billion is only for CCS.
To be sure, many are happy to see the government finally getting behind the technology after years of lobbying. Plus, investment in CCS will benefit certain CDR methods that could share the same CO2 transport and storage infrastructure, such as DAC and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), as Devina Banerjee, policy and program manager at climate NGO Carbon Gap, told me.
But, as Ted Christie-Miller, head of carbon removal at the carbon market ratings firm BeZero Carbon, explained, if the UK doesn’t do something big to help foster novel carbon removal methods soon, it could lose out on an opportunity for green growth.
The US’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Act have together provided billions to support the development and deployment of carbon-removal approaches, including $3.5 billion for four DAC hubs alone. While the UK can’t compete in terms of cash, it could leverage its position as a world leader in research to nurture climate startups. Without more funding and regulatory support, UK climate innovations risk getting stuck in the so-called valley of death, a period in which a significant increase in funding is required to make the transition from academic research to commercialization. With the US offerings already tempting some startups to cross the pond, including Switzerland’s Climeworks AG, the UK could really miss out on the potential to create even more green jobs, level up its regional hubs and become an exporter of cutting-edge climate technology.
Although reducing emissions is a priority, and the government is right to put some money into developing CCS in the UK, we can’t wait to start fostering the tools of the future. Let’s hope the UK has something serious to say about supporting engineered carbon-removal methods – as well as throwing more weight behind planning reforms, renewables, heat pumps and more – later this month.
"Wangereza wamepanga kutangaza sera za mazingira katika ""Siku ya Kijani"" katika wiki mbili zijazo, na habari kuhusu marekebisho ya mipango, fedha za kijani, utengenezaji wa magari ya umeme, insulation ya ndani, pampu za joto na kadhalika." "Lakini tulipata hatua ya kwanza wiki hii na ahadi ya matumizi ya teknolojia ya hali ya hewa ambayo wengi wanaiona kama muhimu kwa mabadiliko ya nishati safi. """ Waziri wa Fedha wa Uingereza Jeremy Hunt ametoa mpango wa £ 20 bilioni kwa ajili ya kufungua, kutumia na kuhifadhi kaboni (CCS) katika miaka 20 ijayo. Ni uwekezaji punchy kwamba inatoa uhakika ambapo ilikuwa kukosa, lakini kitu ni kukosa. Kwa sasa, kuna maoni ya pamoja kwamba kuondoa kaboni dioksidi (CDR) ni sehemu muhimu ya fumbo la net-zero. Jopo la Kati la Serikali juu ya Mabadiliko ya Hali ya Hewa (IPCC) sasa linakubali kwamba, kwa sababu ya hatua ya polepole ya kupunguza uzalishaji, uondoaji wa kaboni wa uhandisi sasa ni muhimu ili kupunguza joto kwa chini ya digrii mbili. "Kulingana na Kamati ya Mabadiliko ya Hali ya Hewa (CCCC), ""mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa ya Uingereza yatatokana na mchanganyiko wa kuhifadhi na kuondoa kaboni ifikapo mwaka 2050.""" Serikali ya Uingereza imeweka malengo ya kuhifadhi tani milioni 20 hadi 20 za CO2 kwa mwaka hadi 2050 na kutumia angalau tani milioni 5 za uondoaji wa gesi ya chafu ya uhandisi kwa mwaka hadi 2030. CCS ni tofauti na CDR, na tofauti hiyo ni muhimu hapa. CCS ni njia ya kutengeneza gesi ya kaboni dioksidi (CO2) ambayo huchukuliwa kutoka kwa chanzo, kama vile kiwanda cha umeme au kiwanda, na kisha kuingizwa chini ya ardhi. Teknolojia hii imethibitishwa, ingawa imesababisha sifa mbaya kwa matumizi yake katika "kuokoa mafuta yaliyoimarishwa" ambapo CO2 inayokamatwa hutumiwa kusaidia kushinikiza mafuta ya kina au viscous kutoka visima. Si PR nzuri kabisa kwa teknolojia ya hali ya hewa ya siku zijazo. Lakini hakuna shaka kwamba CCS itakuwa na manufaa katika mpito kama njia ya kupunguza uzalishaji, kwa muda mrefu kama si kutumika kama udhuru wa kupunguza mpito mbali na mafuta ya mafuta. CCS ya gesi inaweza kuwa na jukumu dogo katika mtandao wa umeme wa sifuri, kwa mfano. Pia itasaidia kupunguza uzalishaji kutoka kwa baadhi ya sekta ngumu kupunguza kama vile viwanda vizito. Kuondoa kaboni, kwa upande mwingine, ni juu ya kupunguza uzalishaji wa kihistoria kwa kutumia asili - kupitia ukataji miti, kwa mfano - au teknolojia mpya kama vile kukamata hewa moja kwa moja (DAC) na ina uwezo wa kuondoa CO2 ya ziada ambayo tumepomba angahewa. CDR - asili-msingi au vinginevyo - ni projected kucheza jukumu kubwa katika uponyaji sayari yetu, lakini mengi ya mbinu bado ni katika hatua za mwanzo za maendeleo na haja ya uwekezaji zaidi. Kwa hiyo ni kidogo ya kukatisha tamaa kwamba Uingereza £ 20 bilioni ni tu kwa ajili ya CCS. Kwa hakika, wengi wanafurahi kuona serikali hatimaye ikiunga mkono teknolojia baada ya miaka ya kushawishi. "Kupitia utafiti wa CCS, watafiti wamegundua kuwa ""mbinu za CDR zinaweza kushiriki miundombinu sawa ya usafirishaji na uhifadhi wa CO2 kama vile DAC na bioenergy na kukamata na kuhifadhi kaboni (BECS) "" - Devina Banerjee, meneja wa sera na programu katika shirika lisilo la kiserikali la hali ya hewa Carbon Gap." "Ted Christie-Miller, mkuu wa kuondoa kaboni katika kampuni ya viwango vya soko la kaboni BeZero Carbon, alielezea: ""Ikiwa Uingereza haitafanya kitu kikubwa kusaidia kukuza mbinu mpya za kuondoa kaboni hivi karibuni, inaweza kupoteza fursa ya ukuaji wa kijani.""" Sheria ya Kupunguza Mfumuko wa Bei (IRA) na Sheria ya Miundombinu ya Bipartisan pamoja zimetoa mabilioni ya kusaidia maendeleo na utoaji wa mbinu za kuondoa kaboni, ikiwa ni pamoja na $ 3.5 bilioni kwa vituo vinne vya DAC peke yake. Wakati Uingereza haiwezi kushindana katika suala la fedha, inaweza kuimarisha nafasi yake kama kiongozi wa dunia katika utafiti ili kukuza kuanza hali ya hewa. "Bila fedha zaidi na msaada wa kisheria, ubunifu wa hali ya hewa wa Uingereza unakabiliwa na hatari ya kukwama katika ""bonde la kifo,"" kipindi ambacho ongezeko kubwa la fedha linahitajika kufanya mabadiliko kutoka kwa utafiti wa kitaaluma hadi biashara." Kwa kuwa matoleo ya Marekani tayari yanawavutia baadhi ya waanzilishi kuvuka dimbwi, ikiwa ni pamoja na Climeworks AG ya Uswisi, Uingereza inaweza kweli kukosa uwezo wa kuunda kazi zaidi za kijani, kuongeza viwango vya vituo vyake vya kikanda na kuwa mtoaji wa teknolojia ya hali ya hewa ya hali ya juu. Ingawa kupunguza uzalishaji ni kipaumbele, na serikali ni haki ya kuweka baadhi ya fedha katika kuendeleza CCS nchini Uingereza, hatuwezi kusubiri kuanza kukuza zana za siku zijazo. Hebu tutegemee kwamba Uingereza ina kitu cha kusema kuhusu kuunga mkono mbinu za uondoaji wa kaboni za uhandisi - pamoja na kutupa uzito zaidi nyuma ya marekebisho ya mipango, nishati mbadala, pampu za joto na zaidi - baadaye mwezi huu.