This article discusses bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and the viability of this solution. The article addresses misconceptions that may arise with this solution, such as the idea that it requires burning trees important to the ecosystems. When teaching about this topic, it is important to discuss the implications of using large amounts of land in developing countries to store carbon they have not emitted, as mentioned in the article, and if that really makes this an equitable solution. The video, Can Mass Carbon Capture Really Work? touches on BECCS and other methods for carbon capture. To learn more about the consequences of solutions like BECCS and geoengineering, students can watch the video The Problem with Geoengineering (ft. @ClimateAdam).
Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.
Plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) as they grow, which is why forests are valuable carbon “sinks” that keep CO2 out of the atmosphere and stop it from contributing to climate change. But plants absorb CO2 fastest when they’re young and growing, and when they burn or decompose, their stored CO2 is released. Is it possible, then, to accelerate the process by harvesting plants early and storing their carbon safely out of the atmosphere?
Yes, although we wouldn’t want to do this in natural ecosystems. The most practical version of this idea is called “bioenergy with carbon capture and storage” (BECCS), which is being studied by MIT researchers including Jennifer Morris, a principal research scientist at the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and the MIT Energy Initiative. The idea of BECCS is that plants would be grown, harvested, and then combusted to create energy in the form of electricity or liquid biofuels. The CO2 created when the plants are burned would be captured and stored underground. The end result is the removal of some CO2 from the atmosphere.
“As we look at the growing focus on net zero emissions, there comes a point where you have to start thinking about negative emissions,” Morris says. “So what are carbon dioxide removal technologies that could potentially be feasible? That’s where something like BECCS comes in.”
