Recommendation 23

Combining power generation using sustainably sourced biomass with carbon capture and storage (CCUS) has the potential to generate ‘negative emissions’–i.e. it could reduce the overall amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.65 Both the government and the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the government on how best to achieve its decarbonisation goals, believe that BECCS will be essential for the UK 58 Letter from Drax, 17 March 2025 59 Q 42 60 Q 3 61 Q 3 and Drax Power, Response to CCC Bioenergy Review: call for evidence, December 2018, p 1 62 Q 71 63 Q 1 64 Q 71 65 C&AG’s Report, para 2 16 to achieve its decarbonisation goals from Carbon Budget 6 and beyond.66 The CCC recently provided new advice to government, which set out a reduced role for BECCS in 2050 compared to its earlier forecasts, but does still see BECCS as an essential part of the UK’s decarbonisation efforts by generating 25 million tonnes of negative carbon emissions per year (roughly half the amount suggested in its previous advice).67