🇬🇧This week’s Europe carbon management spotlight: the #UnitedKingdom 🇬🇧

Compared to other countries, the UK is far ahead in integrating carbon removal (#CDR) into its climate policy. The government has attributed extensive funds to R&D and innovation support for various CDR technologies – mostly direct air carbon capture and storage (#DACCS) and bioenergy carbon capture and storage (#BECCS), though biochar carbon removal (#BCR) and enhanced rock weathering (#ERW) are also getting some attention.

Let’s take a closer look at how the UK has woven CDR into its #netzero plan.

What is the UK's CDR strategy?

🎯 The country has a legally binding #netzero target by 2050, and its national Net-Zero Strategy was one of the first to establish an engineered Greenhouse Gas Removal (#GGR) target of 5Mt by 2030.

🔀 Both #ecosystem and #technological CDR are seen as necessary in the national strategy. The UK is to invest £20bn over 10 years in CCS and CDR initiatives; fund allocation details for CDR projects will be revealed in a business model consultation.

💡 Most of the financial support is going to technological CDR (DACCS and BECCS), with ERW and BCR receiving some funding too. The country is expected to integrate CDR into its UK #ETS by 2026-2028, making CDR credits a tradable asset.

What R&D support has the UK provided for CDR?

💷 A £100m fund has been created to support technological CDR development as part of the national Net-Zero Strategy.

🪨 The country has launched a "DAC and other GGR Technologies” programme to support innovative CDR projects. 15 projects have been selected so far to receive a total of £54m, three of which use #biochar.

🌦 Following the #GGR programme (2017-2022) and via the Strategic Priorities Fund, UK Research and Innovation has pledged to invest £31.5m in 5 land-based GGR projects, which include EW and BCR.

CDR is already deeply woven into the UK net zero framework. We can expect CDR to gain importance as a net zero tool in the future, and the UK serves as a practical model for other countries' national CDR initiatives.

It goes without saying that this CDR push in the country is due to an incredible amount of companies and hardworking individuals: BeZero Carbon, Standard Gas Technologies Ltd, Treeconomy, Counteract, Kita, UNDO, CUR8, Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company, Canopey, Carbon Gap, C-Capsule, Mission Zero Technologies, Supercritical, Planetary, Drax Group, Isometric, Rethinking Removals, Seabound, Black Bull Biochar.

And shoutout to these individuals: Annie, Natalia, James, Owen, Tom, Marta, Gabrielle, Brian, Ted, Thomas, Aaron, Helen, Rob, Ben, Eli, Carl, Travis, Thomas, James, Emily.

What else would you highlight about the UK CDR landscape? What am I missing?