Managing UK agriculture with rock dust could absorb up to 45 per cent of atmospheric carbon dioxide needed for net-zero
Date:
April 25, 2022
Source:
University of Sheffield
Summary:
A major new study shows adding rock dust to UK agricultural soils
could remove between 6 and 30 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)
from the atmosphere annually by 2050.
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Adding rock dust to UK agricultural soils could absorb up to 45 per cent
of the atmospheric carbon dioxide needed to reach net zero, according
to a major new study led by scientists at the University of Sheffield.
==========================================================================
The study, led by Dr Euripides Kantzas, a senior research associate in
the Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation at the University,
provides the first detailed analysis of the potential and costs of
greenhouse gas removal by enhanced weathering in the UK over the next
50 years.
The authors show this technique could make a major overlooked contribution
to the UK's requirement for greenhouse gas removal in the coming decades
with a removal potential of 6-30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually
by 2050.
This represents up to 45 per cent of the atmospheric carbon removal
required nationally to meet net-zero greenhouse gas emissions alongside emissions reductions.
Deployment could be straightforward because the approach uses existing infrastructure and has costs of carbon removal lower than other Carbon
Dioxide Removal (CDR) strategies, such as direct air capture with carbon capture storage, and bioenergy crops with carbon capture and storage.
A clear advantage of this approach to CDR is the potential to deliver
major wins for agriculture in terms of lowering emissions of nitrous
oxide, reversing soil acidification that limits yields and reducing
demands for imported fertilisers.
The advantages of reducing reliance on imported food and fertilisers have
been highlighted by the war in Ukraine that has caused the price of food
and fertilisers to spike worldwide as exports of both are interrupted.
The authors of the study highlight that societal acceptance is required
from national politics through to local community and farm scales. While
mining operations for producing the basalt rock dust will generate
additional employment and could contribute to the UK government's
levelling up agenda; however this will need to be done in ways which
are both fair and respectful of local community concerns.
This new study provides much needed detail of what enhanced rock
weathering as a carbon dioxide removal strategy could deliver for
the UK's net-zero commitment by 2050. The Committee on Climate Change,
which provides independent advice to the government on climate change and carbon budgets, overlooked enhanced weathering in their recent net-zero
report because it required further research. The new study now indicates enhanced weathering is comparable to other options on the table and has considerable co-benefits to UK food production and soil health.
Professor David Beerling, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Climate
Change Mitigation at the University of Sheffield and senior author of the study, said: "Our analysis highlights the potential of UK agriculture
to deliver substantial carbon drawdown by transitioning to managing
arable farms with rock dust, with added benefits for soil health and
food security." Dr Euripides Kantzas of theLeverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation at the University of Sheffieldand lead author, said:
"By quantifying the carbon removal potential and co-benefits of amending
crops with crushed rock in the UK, we provide a blueprint for deploying enhanced rock weathering on a national level, adding to the toolbox
of solutions for carbon-neutral economies." Professor Nick Pidgeon,
a partner in the study and Director of the Understanding Risk Group
at Cardiff University, said: "Meeting our net zero targets will need
widespread changes to the way UK agriculture and land is managed. For this transformation to succeed we will need to fully engage rural communities
and farmers in this important journey."
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Sheffield. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Kantzas, E.P., Val Martin, M., Lomas, M.R. et al. Substantial carbon
drawdown potential from enhanced rock weathering in the United
Kingdom.
Nat. Geosci, 2022 DOI: 10.1038/s41561-022-00925-2 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220425121054.htm
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