Thread by @royalsociety

The UK could be #CarbonNeutral by 2050, meeting its #ParisAgreement targets, according to a new report from The Royal Society and @RAEngNews. Here are 8 technologies and approaches that could be vital (a thread) royalsociety.org/greenhouse-gas…

Forestation – whether it’s replacing lost trees or creating new forests, this technique means more trees. Better management could remove as much as 12 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Habitat restoration – 80% of the UK’s wetlands, peatlands & coastal habitats are considered to be in poor condition. Restoring these could prevent previously trapped carbon from escaping, & store up to 18 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare per year royalsociety.org/topics-policy/…

Soil carbon sequestration – By using existing techniques like ‘cover crops’ and rotation, the UK could increase the carbon content of soil and potentially remove several megatonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Building with biomass – If we used more biomass in construction, our buildings could double as carbon storage removing an estimated gigatonne of carbon dioxide per year royalsociety.org/topics-policy/…

What if we could just bury #carbondioxide? By turning #biomass into biochar (through pyrolysis), the UK could trap #carbon for extended periods and also potentially improve soil quality.

Enhanced terrestrial weathering – the breakdown of rock naturally removes #carbon from the #atmosphere. By milling rocks containing magnesium or calcium and spreading it on farmland, this process can be hastened royalsociety.org/topics-policy/…

BECCS – #Bioenergy with #carboncapture & storage combines 2 techniques. 1st, we could use biomass to generate power, heat or liquid fuel. Then we combine this with carbon capture and storage to remove an estimated 70 megatonnes of carbon dioxide per year in the UK alone.

Direct air capture & carbon storage – the technology to directly suck #greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is under development. Combining this process with #carboncapture & storage could be an effective tool in combating #climatechange royalsociety.org/topics-policy/…

These technologies, along with efforts to reduce #carbon emission, are essential for the UK to achieve #netzero emissions. Learn more by reading the full report royalsociety.org/topics-policy/…