Why engineered carbon removals are at odds with energy security and affordability

At the heart of net zero is a reliance on negative emissions, or carbon removals, to counterbalance emissions from sectors such as agriculture, shipping and aviation that are technically and economically very difficult to decarbonize. But the costs of engineered carbon removals – which rely on human-made technologies rather than nature-based solutions – could be prohibitive at the scale currently envisaged in many countries’ net zero strategies. These costs are incompatible with governments’ focus on energy security and affordability.

This research paper analyses the costs for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS). It proposes that there is scope for their high costs, as well as the risks, to be shared and minimized through a more collaborative international approach.

Even so, BECCS and DACCS will not be low-cost technologies, particularly compared with renewables like wind and solar, or batteries for electric vehicles. This means that greater focus must be placed on energy efficiency and demand management to reduce reliance on engineered carbon removals, and to ease energy security and affordability concerns.