Effective achievement of emission-reduction and global temperature goals will require not only decarbonisation of existing sources of electricity but development of opportunities to remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere in association with energy production (negative emission technologies). There are a broad range of existing and potential negative emission technologies, including biosequestration, fixed engineering technologies like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and diffuse geoengineering technologies like ocean fertilisation. All negative emission technologies are likely to give rise to potential economic, social and environmental trade-offs, which can affect their cost-effectiveness and suitability for deployment. The development of governance structures to assess and manage these trade-offs will be critical in finding robust, socially acceptable ways of removing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

This project evaluates the potential positive and negative impacts associated with a suite of negative emission technologies, evaluate the suitability of existing governance structures for managing potential trade-offs, and develop a broadly-applicable set of governance principles relating to the management of negative emissions technologies.