Biochar for Decarbonisation

Key messages:

  • The biochar system is an exceptional negative emissions technology (NET) that can remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in soil, thereby improving soil and conserving water, as well as having other possible uses.
  • The lack of an enabling and supportive policy framework at the EU level, has been the main barrier to widespread diffusion of the biochar system.
  • Widespread diffusion of the biochar system will require its greenhouse gas removals from the atmosphere to be financially rewarded, but its many benefits could then lead to wide public acceptance.
  • The policy framework to support NETs, including biochar, needs urgently to be agreed and implemented.