Act Beyond Value Chain

Reduce/avoid technology-based solutions focus on minimizing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere. These solutions aim to decrease the generation of emissions at their source or prevent their release altogether. For example, renewable energy technologies like solar and wind power can replace fossil fuel-based energy generation, reducing the need for burning carbon-intensive fuels and subsequently lowering emissions.

On the other hand, removal technology-based solutions are designed to extract greenhouse gases that are already present in the atmosphere. These technologies capture and remove CO2 from the air, effectively reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases. Examples such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air capture demonstrate this capacity. These methods rely on geological storage of CO2 for large-scale carbon sequestration.

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage

BECCS involves the capture and permanent storage of CO2 from processes where biomass is burned to generate energy. This can include power plants using biomass (or a mix of biomass and fossil fuels); pulp mills for paper production; lime kilns for cement production; and refineries producing biofuels through fermentation (ethanol) or gasification (biogas) of biomass.

BECCS enables carbon removal because biomass absorbs CO2 as it grows, and this CO2 is not re-released when it is burned. Instead, it is captured and injected into deep geological formations, removing it from the natural carbon cycle.

BECCS is one of the most mature carbon removal options. There are a number of BECCS facilities operating around the world today, capturing CO2 from industrial processes (for example, ethanol production) and biomass-based power generation. In some cases, BECCS can offer a relatively low-cost opportunity for the deployment of carbon capture and storage. This includes the production of bioethanol, where the CO2 capture costs can be as low as USD 25 per tonne of CO2. At the same time, BECCS faces deployment challenges related to the availability of sustainable biomass and the need for infrastructure to transport and store CO2, which is lacking in most regions of the world.

Read Adopt BECCS technologies, for more information on BECCS technologies in the context of the pulp and paper industry.

Direct air capture

Direct air capture can enable carbon removal in which CO2 captured from the atmosphere is permanently stored. The captured CO2 can also be sold for use, for example, in food and beverage production or for blending with low-carbon hydrogen to make synthetic fuels. But in most cases, the captured CO2 that is used is re-released into the atmosphere, such as when the fuel is burned. In these cases, use of the captured CO2 could still generate climate benefits, particularly where synthetic fuels are replacing conventional fossil fuels, for example. But this would not result in negative emissions.

Due to the low concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, direct air capture technologies are currently more energy-intensive and expensive than other carbon capture applications, which draw off more concentrated CO2 from industrial facilities or power plants.