🤔 There are 24 ways to remove carbon. Guess how many Europe is betting on?

😍 Have you seen Carbon Gap’s wonderful overview of (probably) all CDR approaches? I love how it shows the incredible breadth of the sector: from ocean to soils to forests to machines. There is something in there for everyone.

Why does this matter? Why do we truly need a portfolio of approaches?

🔹 SCALE: no single technology will deliver the volumes we need. Period.

🔹 RESILIENCE: what if inputs for one approach (e.g. biomass, sorbents, energy) suddenly become uneconomical?

🔹 VALUE: every country is different, lending itself to some approaches and excluding others. We need to ensure the economic, environmental, and societal benefits of CDR are realised everywhere, not just in a few countries. 

🔹 ADVOCACY: a portfolio allows us to play to each politician’s preferences and passions, allowing us to build much broader and long-lasting support.  

⚠️ Despite all the talk of “tech-neutrality” wherever you look, most CDR strategies are far from tech neutral. And the EU is the best example.

🏭 >90% of all support for CDR currently centres around a single approach: BioCCS/BECCS. Under the Carbon Gap framework BioCCS/BECCS encompasses around 4/24 of the approaches. 

📋 The Innovation Fund, the ETS proposal, the Buyers Club/Coalition, and the list goes on… 

🌬️ It’s true that DACCS is also receiving a fair amount of funding. But - my take - it will be a tech export play, at least in the 2030s, with small amounts actually removed through DACCS in Europe.

🪨 What about Biochar Carbon Removal? Yes, we have a CRCF methodology. But money talks, and BCR is surely receiving <1% (if at all) of funding as planned.

🇳🇴🇸🇪 Now the implications are significant: as it stands, Europe will rely on a single technology that will largely be done in a handful of (Nordic) countries.

😨 I am seriously worried about this. And the same can be said for Norway, the UK, Switzerland, etc.

🎯 Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE BioCCS. And I actually think it should be a huge focus in Europe, maybe even 50%, as we have a massive comparative advantage here. But if we do not seriously diversify, I guarantee to you we will fail to scale CDR to the levels we will need to reach net-zero.

In particular, I think three things need to happen:

1️⃣ Biochar needs to play a more prominent role, immediately. 

2️⃣ We need to open up towards marine CDR. The potential is huge (including in rivers and waste water), and it can be done all across Europe.

3️⃣ Enhanced rock weathering has to play a role. If MRV is the challenger, let’s put some serious funding into solving it once and for all. Again, so much potential in Europe

📈 With these three steps I would feel much more comfortable about where we are heading: a CDR strategy that is diverse, scaleable, and resilient. 

👉 So, head over to Carbon Gap for some inspiration: https://lnkd.in/enikjCUz

🙋🏻 And do challenge me on this one. I want to be proven wrong.

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