A new report issued by Carbon Gap offers recommendations on turning the UK into a leading global carbon dioxide removal (CDR) hub, tapping into an array of economic benefits for the country.
Pointing out that besides emissions reductions, experts identify greenhouse gas removal (GGR) as the second vital tool for combating climate change, this report offers pointers on how the UK can seize the chance to become a leading hotspot for this emerging industry, revitalizing its supply chains and accessing what is projected to be a trillion-dollar global market.
With strategic advantages like a developed financial market, top-tier science, and vast carbon storage capacity in the North Sea, the UK is well positioned to take the lead in the carbon management industry.
According to the report, by 2050, a well-developed UK CDR sector would introduce 60,000 high-skilled jobs across the country, especially in regions like Scotland, the Midlands, and the North.
The report suggests three main pillars of action in this direction.
It states that the country should work on building up corporate demand for removals, using public procurement to boost projects in early development stages and maximize the impact and integrity of integrating markets.
The UK also needs to increase funding opportunities for innovations in this field, expanding the reach to cover a wider spectrum of technologies. It should look to provide early-stage funding for novel technologies, and it needs to establish world-leading certification standards.
Lastly, the UK needs to center its net-zero strategy around GGR by providing financial support for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) clusters and backing the development of the industrial infrastructure needed for carbon removals.
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The Carbon Gap report also stresses that in order to make this vision a reality, the country will need to act fast, as time is running out and the global race for the leading CDR spots is already under way.
So far, parts of the globe like Japan and the European Union have emerged as frontrunners, and the UK will need to pick up its pace and claim its spot among the dominant CDR economies in the world.
Read more: Germany Includes CDR In Its New Federal Budget Proposal
