Premises for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage in the global response to climate change

Research Project, 2016 – 2018

Limiting temperature rise well below 2 °C requires rapid transformation of the global energy system. A majority of existing scenarios as well as many national policy efforts rely heavily on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) to achieve this goal. However, while socio-political drivers and barriers are known to be vital for technology development and transition management, the scenarios only account for techno-economic parameters. This project provides a first, broad assessment of socio-political prospects for deploying BECCS at the scales suggested in the scenarios through 1) mapping prioritisations of BECCS among key actors and in national climate targets and strategies, 2) exploring factors that may influence preferences, and 3) assessing how models can approximate BECCS’ socio-political dimension. The project provides crucial input to more realistic mitigation scenarios and to the dis-/incentives for deployment of BECCS.