Large-scale technological interventions to “fix” the climate crisis are moving up on the political agenda. Some climate scientists are now proposing geoengineering interventions on land to halt global warming – most prominently BECCS (Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage), which combines two controversial technologies: bioenergy and CCS. These schemes to manipulate our ecosystems and global natural processes come with great risks and uncertainties, as well as with foreseeable adverse impacts on land ecosystems and human communities depending on them.
Part II of “A technofix for the climate?” presents BECCS as the posterchild of Carbon Dioxide Removal technologies on land. We focus on the risks, negative impacts and potential side-effects of BECCS, and address some of the real solutions the land sector offers for tackling climate change.
