Achieving net-zero emissions is essential for meeting the Paris Agreement targets, and carbon removal technologies like BECCS and DACCS will play a crucial role in offsetting hard-to-abate emissions. This paper examines the barriers to BECCS and DACCS deployment, including high costs, infrastructure limitations, and regulatory uncertainties.
Achieving net-zero emissions is essential for meeting the Paris Agreement targets, and carbon removal technologies like Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Air Capture with Carbon Storage (DACCS) will play a crucial role in offsetting hard-to-abate emissions.
While these technologies are critical for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere, they currently face limited incentives and financial support. Current EU policies, including the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) and Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Certification Regulation (CRCF), acknowledge the need for carbon removal, but lack clear mechanisms to finance and implement these solutions at scale.
This paper examines the barriers to BECCS and DACCS deployment, including high costs, infrastructure limitations, and regulatory uncertainties. It also explores five funding models that could accelerate adoption: state support, quota obligations, emissions trading integration, international trade in carbon removals, and voluntary markets
By establishing a strong regulatory and financial framework, the EU can position itself as a global leader in carbon removal technologies while ensuring that these solutions are economically viable and environmentally sustainable.
Kenneth Möllersten has been working over 25 years in the interface between greenhouse gas mitigation technology and climate policy. His current research is focused on the four areas Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Voluntary Carbon Markets, and GHG accounting and reporting.
Dr Lars Zetterberg has over 35 years of experience in analysing climate mitigation pathways and climate policy instruments. In recent years his focus has been analysing the function and effectiveness of the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS), how to create incentives and financing for carbon removals (CDR), and policy packages that can drive an industrial transition towards net zero GHG emissions.
Fores – Forum for reforms, entrepreneurship and sustainability – is the green and liberal think tank based in Sweden. With one foot in academia and the other in the public debate, Fores works every day towards solutions and policies that strengthen the liberal democracy. For more information, visit Fores.se.