UCL ISR responds to UK Government call for evidence on the role of biomass in reaching net-zero

The UK has set the ambitious goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The scale and breadth of this challenge is significant, and all sectors of the economy need to ramp up efforts to rapidly lower their emissions. One option that could support this shift is to use biomass, with or without carbon capture and storage, to provide clean energy. 

There are multiple potential applications of biomass in the energy system and understanding the implications of the choices we need to make in the near term is vital. To explore these implications, the UK government will this year publish a much-needed update to the UK’s 2012 bioenergy strategy. The views expressed by the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources (ISR) in this consultation will feed into this process. 

ISR researchers suggest that biomass could make a significant contribution to meeting our climate goals, but we emphasise the need for caution. Not only does biomass have complex national and international supply chains, but even the idea that biomass can reliably remove carbon from the atmosphere remains contentious.

Co-author Oliver Broad, Senior Research Fellow at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources said:

“Redressing our impact on the climate by reducing our emissions to net-zero is the most pressing challenge that our country will face for a generation. Getting there requires energy technology solutions that we have not used before – biomass and BECCS are likely to be part of this portfolio. Getting it right depends on ensuring that we use biomass options sensibly, on understanding their limitations, and on addressing the risks that they imply for global justice and the environment. If we can build our understanding of what sustainable biomass means, and how to safeguard it, then we may, absolutely, use it to our benefit in reaching climate goals.”Redressing our impact on the climate by reducing our emissions to net-zero is the most pressing challenge that our country will face for a generation. Getting there requires energy technology solutions that we have not used before – biomass and BECCS are likely to be part of this portfolio. Getting it right depends on ensuring that we use biomass options sensibly, on understanding their limitations, and on addressing the risks that they imply for global justice and the environment. If we can build our understanding of what sustainable biomass means, and how to safeguard it, then we may, absolutely, use it to our benefit in reaching climate goals.”

Through responses to the questions set out in the consultation, ISR colleagues explore issues related to biomass availability, the future use of biomass and supply chain sustainability. Overall, our contributions make ten key recommendations. These include:

• Engaging with a wide-ranging definition of biomass sustainability, both domestically and internationally, that has a strong focus on social justice and land use;
• Accepting that biomass supply chains are complex, and that work is needed to better understand the implications of scaling up domestic and international supply;
• Prioritising solutions which enhance ecosystems and resilience of natural environments in the face of a changing climate;
• Accepting that biomass supply should be strongly limited by sustainability constraints and so biomass should only be used in applications which sequester carbon in the long term, or where there are few low carbon alternatives;
• Developing biomass supply chains which place the priorities of local communities at their centre;
• Fostering a consistent approach to land and energy policy across government, which must go beyond departmental divisions. 

Co-author Isabela Butnar, Senior Research Fellow at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources said: 

“The scale up of sustainable biomass in the UK has great potential to contribute to fast decarbonisation and perhaps to the removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere. It is critical, however, that this scale up is informed by careful monitoring, reporting and verification of full supply chains (including biomass imports), and weighted against other low carbon or CO₂ removal technologies. Importantly, this weighting should centre social and wider environmental priorities, to ensure that the race to net zero does not damage the social and natural systems that support all human activities.”

 Image credit: Franz26, Pixabay