A Report commissioned by the Government states that the UK will need investment worth billions of pounds every year to remove enough greenhouse gases from the air to meet its 2050 climate targets.
The Report, by analysts at Vivid Economics, estimated that the UK would need as much as £20 billion a year to remove up to 130 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air. This will be necessary to make up for industries such as aviation, agriculture and heavy industry, as the UK works to build a net-zero carbon economy.
The Reports comments that "even if emissions are reduced aggressively across the economy, the UK is expected to continue to emit a significant amount of greenhouse gases annually".
"The rate of rollout will need to be rapid, particularly in the 2030s and 2040s, and will require significant policy support".
Ministers have been urged to consider supporting investment in greenhouse gas removal. This could mean offering new subsidies and grants for carbon capture technologies and projects, or demanding that companies that supply fossil fuels and agriculture products offset a percentage of their carbon emissions by investing in greenhouse gas removal.
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the Report presents a variety of different options for consideration and that they will look closely at its findings.
"We recognise the importance and urgency of taking action right across the economy to deliver on our world-leading net-zero target, including by developing our approach to greenhouse gas removal technology".
On average, the Report estimates that the UK may need between £1 billion to £2 billion a year in 2030 to remove greenhouse gas emissions from the air, rising to between £6 billion and £20 billion by 2050.
Projects range in expense from, technology that can absorb carbon dioxide from the air at a cost between £160 to £470 a tonne, and restoring natural habitats, at a cost between £8 to £78 a tonne. The Report even suggests supporting "enhance weathering", a new approach to carbon removal in which fields are spread with ground-up silicate rocks, to increase the soil's natural rate of carbon absorption, at an uncertain cost between £39 and £390 a tonne.
For more information on this subject, see:
