Land-Management Options for Greenhouse Gas Removal and Their Impacts on Ecosystem Services and the Sustainable Development Goals

Journal Article · Thu Oct 17 04:00:00 EDT 2019 · Annual Review of Environment and Resources

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-101718-033129· OSTI ID:1735946

Smith, Pete ^[1]; Adams, Justin ^[2]; Beerling, David J. ^[3]; Beringer, Tim ^[4]; Calvin, Katherine V. ^[5]; Fuss, Sabine ^[6]; Griscom, Bronson ^[2]; Hagemann, Nikolas ^[7]; Kammann, Claudia ^[4]; Kraxner, Florian ^[8]; Minx, Jan ^[9]; Popp, Alexander ^[10]; Renforth, Phil ^[11]; Vincente, Jose Luis ^[4]; Keesstra, Saskia ^[12]

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1. University of Aberdeen
2. The Nature Conservancy
3. University of Sheffield
4. MCC
5. BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
6. IIASA
7. Environmental Analytics
8. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
9. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
10. Potsdam Institute for Climate Change
11. Heriot-Watt University
12. WENR

Land-based greenhouse gas removal (GGR) options include afforestation/reforestation, wetland restoration, soil carbon sequestration, biochar, terrestrial enhanced weathering and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. We assess the opportunities and risks associated with these options through the lens of their potential impacts on ecosystems services (Nature’s Contributions to People; NCPs) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We find that all land-based GGRs options contribute positively to at least some NCPs and SDGs. Wetland restoration and soil carbon sequestration almost exclusively deliver positive impacts. A few GGR options, such as afforestation, BECCS and biochar potentially impact negatively on some NCPs and SDGs, particularly when implemented at scale, largely through competition for land. For those that present risks, or are least well understood more research is required, and demonstration projects need to proceed with caution. For options that present low risks and provide co-benefits, implementation can proceed more rapidly following “no regrets” principles.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1735946
• Report Number(s): PNNL-ACT-SA-10388
• Journal Information: Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Journal Name: Annual Review of Environment and Resources Vol. 44
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

greenhouse gas removal
Carbon Dioxide Removal
CDR
negative emission technololgy
NET
afforestation
reforestation
wetland restoration
soil carbon sequestration
biochar