Scientists lay out vision of carbon neutral UK by 2050

The UK could become carbon-neutral nation by 2050 if greenhouse gas removal technologies are deployed on a large scale to extract carbon dioxide permanently from the atmosphere, according to the country’s senior scientists and engineers. 

In a joint report the Royal Academy of Engineering and Royal Society present an ambitious plan that combines several approaches to greenhouse gas removal (GGR), ranging from simple tree planting to high-tech devices that suck CO2 out of the air. 

The authors add that carbon neutrality can only be achieved if GGR is accompanied by strong action to limit the emission of new greenhouse gases — for example by phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles and using only non-carbon energy to generate electricity.

“If the UK acts now on greenhouse gas removal, we can reach national emissions targets and show how a major industrialised economy can play a leading role in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said Gideon Henderson, professor of earth science at Oxford university and chair of the report working group.

“In this report we’ve identified available GGR technologies, how they might be used together for maximum effect, and how their phased development and deployment could enable the urgent action required to avoid the devastating impact of climate change.”

The authors estimate that the UK could cut new emissions of CO2 from 468m tonnes in 2016 to 130m tonnes in 2050 through stringent decarbonising of the economy. They name aviation and agriculture as the two main sectors where substantial emissions will continue into the second half of the century.

To achieve zero net emissions, the UK must therefore remove 130m tonnes of CO2 per year. Only a quarter of this could be achieved with relatively simple ready-to-go methods including forestation, restoring peatlands and coastal wetlands to increase their ability to store carbon, changing agricultural practices to increase the carbon content of soil, and building more extensively with wood and carbonated waste. For instance forests, which currently cover 3.2m hectares, should be extended to 4.5m hectares by giving landowners more incentive to plant trees, the authors say.

Other methods will need much more technological development and investment before they can be used on the required scale, according to the report. More than half of the required GGR will depend on capturing carbon dioxide and storing it permanently in reservoirs deep underground or in chemically altered rocks.

Some will be extracted from the emissions of power stations burning biomass. More will be removed directly from the air in vast plants, sometimes called artificial trees, which capture CO2 in a reversible chemical reaction. Small prototype CO2 removal plants are running in Switzerland and Canada.

Nilay Shah, engineering professor at Imperial College London and member of the report group, said: “Delivery of these technologies at the necessary scale will present many challenges. Overcoming these will require a concerted effort from engineers, scientists and governments worldwide.”