A new report claims that the UK’s plans to achieve ‘net zero” by 2050 through removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are based on the burning of the equivalent of 120 million trees per year.
Net Zero Strategy by the government, which was released October 2021, seeks to capture as much as 58 million tonnes CO2 from burning biomass and pipes it to the North Sea.
The process of burning trees is considered carbon neutral as the trees that were replanted are then planted again. Therefore, any emissions that have been captured and stored will be counted negatively.
But to create this much carbon, a whopping 32,534,939 tonnes of wood pellets would need to be burned every year, according to a report by The Telegraph — the equivalent of 119,834,572 trees.
Comparatively, New Forest has 46 million trees.
Net Zero Strategy, which aims to reduce carbon emissions in the UK by zero carbon emission by 2050, heavily relies on bioenergy and carbon capture and storage (BECCS). This involves using wood pellets to produce electricity before any CO2 is extracted and piped underground.
Three major UK biomass power plants are available. Drax, a North Yorkshire-based redesigned coal power plant is the largest.
Net Zero Strategy by the government aims at zero carbon emissions and heavily depends on bioenergy (BECCS).
‘Carbon capture usage and storage can capture CO2 from power generation, hydrogen production, and industrial processes – storing it underground or using it,’ the government explains in its Journey to Net Zero report.
‘This technology also supports negative emissions from engineered greenhouse gas removals – bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage.’
Because of the growing number of trees that replace the ones being burned, the UK government regards biomass as carbon neutral.
However, wood burning is far more complex than this assumption – with many studies showing that burning wood is often not carbon neutral.
Ember, an independent think tank explained that the Net Zero Strategy was launched last year. Its ability to produce negative emissions depends on how carbon-neutral burning wood is.
“BECCS” carries the exact same carbon impact risks as wood-burning.
The report estimates that 32,534,939 tonnes (or 119.834,572) of wood pellets are required to produce this amount of carbon. To compare, New Forest has 46 million trees.
“The ability of BECCS, in other words, to emit negative emissions on the same scale as promised, must be questioned, considering the serious questions about the carbon neutrality status of burning wood.
The Telegraph has released a new report that analyzes government models to figure out how many biomass power stations will be required to operate.
According to their findings, 58 Million Tonnes of Carbon dioxide must be emitted from power stations chimneys in order for removal to be ‘balanced the books’.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis), told The Telegraph that plans were not final and they did not recognize the ‘characterisation’ of how many trees would be burned.
They stated that Britain needs to produce more domestic power and sustainable biomass was widely considered as a source of renewable, low-carbon energy.
He stated that biomass could be made from other materials than wood, but that no decision was being taken about the use of BECCS.
Ember warns that BECCS will be a costly technology and the cost of the service will fall on energy bill payers.
“Given the concerns with biomass in power sectors and the uncertainty about the true impact of BECCS on the environment, we should not invest our future or finance in this technology,” it stated.
“The government should not support BECCS on a large scale unless it is proven to have real negative emissions.”